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From  Yellowstone  Park  to 
Alaska. 


BY   FRANCIS  C.   SESSIONS 

President  of  the  Ohio  Historical  and  Archaeological  Society 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  C.  H.  WARREN 


NEW  YORK 

WELCH,  FRACKER  COMPANY 
189O 


We  are  indebted  to  Chas.  N.  McFee,  Esq.,  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  for  the  use  of  a  few  of  the 
illustrations  from  photographs. 

THE  PUBLISHERS. 


COPYRIGHT  1890  BY  WELCH,  FRACKEK  COMPANY 


From  Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


i. 

THE    JOURNEY    FROM    ST.    PAUL    WESTWARD. 

OUR  tour  to  Yellowstone  Park  and  Alaska 
commenced  at  St.  Paul.  We  passed 
through  the  beautiful  country  of  Minnesota, 
with  its  ten  thousand  lakes  and  picturesque 
outlooks,  and  all  along  the  road  we  saw  the 
best  growing  corn  that  we  had  seen  any 
where,  of  rich  green  color,  already  tasseled 
out,  although  it  was  but  the  twelfth  of  July. 
There  was  great  complaint  of  a  want  of  rain 
to  save  the  spring  wheat. 

We  passed  through  some  of  the  largest 
wheat  farms  in  the  world,  one  farm  of  fifty 
thousand  acres,  the  property  of  Mr.  Dal- 
rymple,  interesting  us  particularly.  It  is  a 
great  curiosity  to  see  the  reaping  and  binding 
machines  at  work  upon  these  immense  farms. 


M766016 


io       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


Like  the  ranks  of  an  advancing  army,  scores 
abreast,  they  circle  about,  covering  immense 
tracts.  Still  it  seems  that  there  ought  to  be 
some  law  preventing  so  great  an  amount  of 
our  lands  getting  into  the  hands  of  such 
monopolies,  who  do  not  endeavor  to  en 
rich  the  soil,  but  to  work  it  to  the  last  de 
gree.  Our  small  farmers  hold  a  conservative 
influence  in  our  government,  and  such  great 
landholders  are  detrimental  to  our  best 
interests. 

Bismarck,  the  capital  of  Dakota,  is  another 
flourishing  city  of  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand 
inhabitants,  with  its  new  State  house  and 
many  public  buildings  and  stores.  At  Man- 
dan,  just  across  the  Missouri  River  from  Bis 
marck,  is  the  terminus  of  the  Missouri  and 
Dakota  division  of  the  Northern  Pacific,  and 
is  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  river  to  compete 
successfully  with  Bismarck.  Some  Boston 
gentlemen  built  a  number  of  handsome  brick 
stores,  which  are  liable  to  prove  a  bad  invest 
ment,  as  they  are  not  likely  to  be  occupied. 
The  lignite  coal  beds  crop  out  west  of  here, 
and  are  of  great  value  to  Dakota  and  the 
railroad. 

After  passing  many  flourishing  cities  and 
villages,  we  come  soon  on  to  what  is  called 


From   Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        n 


"  Bad  Lands,"  where  we  see  the  cattle  upon 
a  thousand  hills  feeding  upon  dead  grass, 
which  seems  to  nourish  them,  as  they  are  fat 
and  sleek.  The  great  drouth  is  likely  to  have 
a  serious  effect  on  the  cattle  ranches  this 
winter. 

Medora  is  named  after  the  wife  of  the  Mar 
quis  de  Mores,  a  wealthy  French  nobleman, 
who  married  an  American  lady,  and  has  a 
residence  and  large  slaughtering  pens  here, 
sending  dressed  meat  east.  His  early  experi 
ence  in  stock  raising  was  not  a  success,  and, 
to  use  the  words  of  a  ranchman,  "  He  fooled 
away  millions  of  his  wife's  money,  thinking 
all  he  had  to  do  was  to  stock  the  country  and 
let  them  run."  Almost  every  town  has  its 
daily  papers,  and  here  a  cowboy  came  on  to 
the  train  to  sell  "The  Bad  Lands  Cowboy"  at 
ten  cents  apiece.  The  publisher  says  in  his 
prospectus,  "  Price,  two  dollars  a  year.  We 
don't  publish  this  for  fun." 

Montana  is  a  great  grazing  country,  and 
has  as  great  a  reputation  for  its  stock  as 
Dakota  for  its  wheat.  For  many  years,  up  to 
eighteen  eighty-one  and  eighty-two,  inclusive, 
this  was  the  finest  buffalo  hunting  country  on 
the  continent  ;  but  the  slaughter  that  season 
reached  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 


12       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

hides,  and  the  buffalo  is  not  seen  any  longer. 
We  noticed  on  the  sides  of  the  railroads  rings 
tramped  on  the  ground,  with  a  path  around 
them.  We  supposed  them  to  be  some  Indian 
relic,  but  were  informed  by  a  gentleman  on 
the  train,  who  was  an  old  buffalo  hunter, 
that  when  the  cow  is  breeding,  the  bulls 
tramp  around  her,  guarding  her  with  jeal 
ous  care,  and  changing  off  with  other  bulls 
from  time  to  time  until  the  calf  can  run  about. 

One  new  brick  hotel  has  the  name  of 
"Gladstone"  prominent  where  all  travelers 
can  see  it,  showing  how  popular  the  states 
man  is  in  the  far  West  as  well  as  throughout 
the  civilized  world. 

We  were  glad  to  get  to  Livingstone,  where 
we  left  for  the  Yellowstone  country.  The 
town  of  Livingstone,  although  but  three  years 
old,  is  flourishing  and  prosperous,  with  a 
newspaper  and  a  national  bank,  the  latter  in 
the  hands  of  a  receiver,  probably  on  account  of 
the  high  rates  of  interest  for  loans  from  one 
and  one-half  to  two  per  cent,  per  month,  which 
fact  ought  to  break  any  bank.  The  thermo 
meter  here  is  at  one  hundred  and  nine  de 
grees  in  the  shade.  This  fact  causes  us  to 
hasten  our  journey  to  Yellowstone  Park, 
where  there  was  eighteen  inches  of  snow  on 


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V  V"-\/    "' ?'  -^^"' 

v^.  \  '-^* 


CANON  OF  THE  YELLOWSTONE. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        13 


July    fifteenth,    and    the   day   before  it  was 
snowing  on  the  mountains. 

The  railroad  only  runs  to  the  Park,  as  the 
government  will  not  allow  it  to  cross  the 
border  of  the  Park  reservation.  It  now  runs 
along  the  Yellowstone  through  the  valley, 
between  mountains  some  three  thousand  feet 
high,  forming  the  lower  canon.  We  soon 
pass  through  a  valley  called  Paradise,  dotted 
here  and  there  with  the  comfortable  houses 
of  the  ranchmen.  The  high  snow  moun 
tains  soon  come  in  view,  "a  panorama  of 
stately  domes  constantly  unfolding  a  succes 
sion  of  the  grandest  pictures."  We  soon  enter 
the  second  canon,  with  a  narrower  gorge,  the 
sides  rising  almost  perpendicularly  over  a 
thousand  feet  high,  the  scene  presented  very 
like  some  of  the  valleys  of  Switzerland.  As 
we  passed  Cinnabar  Mountain,  with  its  broad 
strip  of  vermillion-colored  rock,  we  come 
upon  what  is  called  the  Devil's  Slide,  with 
walls  hundreds  of  feet  high,  smooth  and  verti 
cal,  with  bright  red  and  brown  interstreaked, 
presenting  a  beautiful  contrast  of  brilliant 
colors.  The  heavy  rains  had  swollen  the  Gar 
diner  River,  and  heavy  rocks  had  slid  down, 
rendering  impassable  in  places  the  mountain 
road.  Everywhere  we  see  evidences  of  vol- 


14       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


canic  eruptions  ;  the  scene  grows  grander  as 
we  advance,  and  we  begin  to  realize  what 
wonders  are  in  store  for  us  during  a  week's 
stay  in  the  Park.  We  see  our  first  hot  spring 
beside  the  river,  and  our  driver,  a  rather  face 
tious  character,  observes  "  that  he  has  often 
caught  trout  in  the  river,  and  then  thrown 
his  line  over  into  the  hot  spring  and  cooked 
them."  This  does  not  seem  to  be  merely  a 
stage  driver's  hallucination,  but  is  vouched 
for  by  others.  The  prospect  up  the  canon 
was  grand,  indeed,  but  we  soon  were  obliged 
to  leave  the  top  of  the  stage  on  account  of 
the  high  wind,  with  forebodings  of  a  cyclone. 
From  the  hot  springs  is  visible  the  white 
formation  which  extends  down  the  valley  like 
a  series  of  grand  waterfalls  struck  into  mar 
ble,  with  exquisitely  filagreed  terraces,  which 
inspired  us  with  a  feeling  of  awe  not  unlike 
that  which  we  felt  upon  beholding  Niagara 
Falls  for  the  first  time.  The  terraces  are  fif 
teen  hundred  feet  high,  where  we  find  beauti 
ful  pools,  with  scolloped  edges,  indented  and 
fretted  like  the  most  perfect  corals. 

On  the  top  we  find  a  broad  plateau  sev 
eral  acres  in  extent,  with  hot  springs  of  every 
description  at  hand.  As  the  steaming  water 
trickles  from  edge  to  edge  over  the  white 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        15 


brims  of  these  successions  of  natural  vessels, 
it  presents  a  beautiful  sight.  Our  attention 
was  called  to  one  spring  on  the  summit  where 
all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  blended  in  most 
exquisite  harmony  ;  others  more  composite, 
now  turquoise  blue,  now  red,  now  green  and 
yellow — colors  given  the  water  by  the  mineral 
deposits  beneath.  We  did  not  remain  long, 
as  night  was  approaching,  and  climbing  was 
fatiguing.  There  are  fourteen  marvelous  ter 
races  from  the  top  of  which  one  can  over 
look  them  all  ;  but  the  altitude  is  such  as  to 
render  breathing  laborious. 

The  geysers  in  Yellowstone  Park  are  fre 
quently  compared  to  the  Te  Tarata  springs 
of  New  Zealand,  where  the  basins  have  the 
same  general  form,  but  instead  of  being  com 
posed  of  calcereous  material,  are  siliceous. 
The  Te  Tarata  covers  an  area  of  about  twelve 
acres,  but  the  springs  near  Hierapolts  resem 
bling  more  these  springs,  though  they  are  not 
so  extensive.  Passing  along  the  canon,  we 
soon  come  upon  the  middle  or  ''bridal  falls," 
described  by  some  as  of  singular  beauty 
and  grace  ;  but  with  our  minds  absorbed  by 
the  unique  beauty  of  the  geysers,  we  scarcely 
esteemed  them  worthy  of  especial  notice. 

The  ride   through    the   canon  was  especi- 


1 6       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

ally  refreshing,  the  thermometer  at  sixty  de 
grees  instead  of  at  one  hundred  and  nine,  as 
on  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  a  refresh 
ing  rain  the  night  before  adding  freshness 
and  invigoration  to  the  mountain  air,  and  we 
were  exhilarated  by  the  grand  view  of  the 
mountains  and  lakes,  coming  every  little  while 
upon  a  beautiful  open  park,  covered  with 
flowers,  whose  green  lawns  were  quite  in  con 
trast  with  the  charred  and  blackened  trees  of 
the  lower  valleys.  Larkspur,  columbine,  the 
hare-bell  and  the  evening  primrose  grew 
wild  in  beautiful  profusion,  and  though  they 
claim  that  they  have  frosts  every  night,  in 
the  morning  the  blossoms  are  uninjured. 

We  stopped  for  dinner  at  Norris'  Geyser 
Basin,  quite  in  trim  for  the  excellent  dinner 
of  mountain  trout  and  Rocky  mountain  sheep, 
which  was  served  us.  Formerly  the  road 
passed  over  the  mountains  three  thousand 
feet  high,  which  required  a  day  to  ascend  ; 
but  now  we  traveled  over  the  road  construct 
ed  by  the  government  engineers,  which  passes 
through  the  canon  of  Gardiner  river.  We 
met  a  large  number  of  teams  carrying  lumber 
and  provisions,  and  the  skill  of  the  driver 
was  often  taxed  to  the  utmost  in  his  endeavor 
to  pass  them  on  the  narrow  road  ;  but  the 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


drivers  and  teamsters  are  a  happy  lot,  hailing 
each  other  with  a  good  word.  At  one  place 
where  we  came  into  collision,  the  teamster 
hailed  our  driver  :  "We  will  go  into  camp  if 
we  cannot  pass."  To  which  our  driver  re 
plied  :  "  Well,  we'll  have  lots  of  water,  wood 
and  grass." 

Our  driver  pointed  out  to  us  a  herd  of  ante 
lope,  beautiful  creatures,  feeding  in  a  meadow 
in  the  distance.  Bears  we  did  not  see,  and 
indeed  very  little  large  game.  We  stopped 
to  take  a  drink  from  a  lemonade  spring,  only 
wanting  the  sugar  to  make  it  very  palatable. 
So  many  of  the  springs  contain  poisonous 
substances,  that  although  the  water  looks 
limpid  and  clear,  it  is  not  safe  to  partake 
unless  a  sign  is  there  denoting  that  the  water 
has  been  subjected  to  chemical  analysis. 
Along  Beaver  Lake,  which  was  formed  by 
the  dams  of  the  beavers,  it  is  said,  are  the 
obsidian  or  volcanic  glass  cliffs,  a  species  of 
lava,  I  doubt  not,  some  two  hundred  feet 
high.  Colonel  Norris,  late  superintendent  of 
the  Park,  found  that  he  could  not  break  the 
rocks  by  blasting,  and  being  obliged  to  con 
struct  a  road  through  them,  built  huge  fires 
in  the  fissures,  and  when  thoroughly  heated, 
threw  water  upon  them  so  as  to  fracture  them. 


1 8       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


We  soon  came  to  the  Divide,  and  the  beau 
tiful  "  Lake  of  the  Woods"  by  the  roadside, 
where  we  see  our  first  geyser.  At  the  lower 
geyser  basin  is  the  famous  fountain,  which 
we  were  fortunate  in  seeing  in  motion,  throw 
ing  the  hot  water  fifty  feet  high,  resembling 
some  of  the  larger  fountains  in  Versailles. 
It  gave  us  warning  by  its  rumble  and  roar, 
and  we  advanced  cautiously.  The  springs 
and  paint-pots  are  beautiful,  indeed,  the  lat 
ter  curiously  named,  of  various  colors,  black, 
yellow,  green,  etc.,  that  blubber  away  like  an 
old-fashioned  pudding  pot  of  my  boyhood's 
remembrance.  One  pool  is  fully  twenty-five 
feet  across,  and  looks  like  an  enormous  tub  of 
white  lead.  We  pass  the  Mammoth  Geyser 
Basin,  quite  secluded  in  the  wild  wood,  with 
here  and  there  geysers  that  throw  up  water 
red  as  blood,  others  blue  as  turquoise,  and 
others  of  mud.  We  ride  along  the  caiion  of 
the  Gibbon  river  until  we  come  to  the  Falls  of 
the  Gibbon,  but  we  do  not  delay  long  here. 
Some  stages  come  at  the  forks  of  the  Firehole 
river,  from  the  Salt  Lake  City  route,  coming 
from  the  Union  Pacific  by  the  Utah  Northern  ; 
but  they  are  obliged  to  ride  over  a  hundred 
miles  by  stage,  entering  the  Park  at  the 
wrong  place,  when  we  had  only  six  miles  to 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        19 

drive  to  the  Park  by  way  of  the  Northern 
Pacific. 

We  come,  after  riding  with  springs  and 
geysers  in  view  in  every  direction,  to  "Hell's 
Half  Acre,"  where  is  the  largest  geyser  in  the 
world,  the  famous  Excelsior.  Colonel  Norris 
says  that  in  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty  it 
showed  its  full  power,  elevating  sufficient 
water  to  the  height  of  from  one  hundred  to 
three  hundred  feet  to  make  the  Firehole  river 
a  foaming  torrent  of  steaming  hot  water, 
hurling  rocks  of  ponderous  weight  like  those 
thrown  from  an  exploded  mine,  over  the  sur 
rounding  country.  A  telegram  was  received 
from  the  manager  of  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park  Hotel,  saying  that  there  were  strong  in 
dications  yesterday  that  the  great  geyser  on 
"  Hell's  Half  Acre,"  is  about  to  erupt.  Strong 
convulsions  were  felt  in  the  morning,  shaking 
the  houses  at  the  fails,  and  on  the  upper  and 
lower  basins.  Crockery  and  glassware  were 
thrown  from  the  shelves,  and  windows  were 
broken.  There  is  considerable  apprehension 
that  if  there  is  an  eruption,  much  damage  will 
be  done  to  the  Park.  We  were  disappointed 
not  to  see  this  remarkable  geyser  in  one 
of  its  violent  eruptions.  It  is  too  choice  of  its 
powers  and,  it  is  said,  only  plays  when  gen- 


20       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

erals  or  presidents  come  to  see  it.  The 
grand  prismatic  spring,  with  its  beautiful 
tints  of  yellow,  orange,  red  and  green,  repaid 
us  well  for  the  disappointment  in  not  seeing 
the  Excelsior  in  fuller  eruption.  Certainly 
this  spring,  revealing  to  us  its  many  beau 
tiful  colors  as  through  a  perfect  prism,  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  objects  we  have  seen. 

The  Firehole  river,  fed  by  numerous  hot 
streams,  from  every  direction,  is  certainly 
rightly  named.  We  were  weary  enough 
after  this  fifty-two  mile  ride,  with  our  minds 
and  eyes  continually  on  the  stretch  to  take  in 
the  wonders  about  us,  and  were  glad  to  come 
in  view  of  the  hotel,  overlooking  the.  upper 
basin.  Early  in  the  morning  we  were  called 
up  to  see  the  "  Old  Faithful "  display,  as  it 
never  fails,  while  the  others  cannot  be  relied 
upon.  There  is  a  long  piazza  extending 
around  the  hotel,  and  visitors  sit  and  watch 
the  geysers  from  this  pleasant  point  of  view. 
"  The  Castle,"  "  The  Bee  Hive,"  "  The  Giant, 
ess,"  "The  Saw  Mill,"  "  The  Grand,"  "The 
Giant,"  and  many  others  display  successively 
their  marvelous  beauties,  and  from  point  to 
point  the  visitors  rush  to  see  the  sights. 

There  are  some  four  hundred  hot  springs 
and  twenty-six  geysers  here.  The  names  are 


PARK. 


From    Yellowstone   Park  to  Alaska.        21 

given  them  from  some  peculiarity  of  natural 
construction,  "  Old  Faithful,"  so  named,  no 
doubt,  because  it  never  fails  at  the  appointed 
time  of  eruption.  It  is,  perhaps,  only  a 
question  of  time  when  all  these  geysers  will 
cease  to  erupt.  When  such  a  misfortune 
occurs  it  will  take  away  one  of  the  grandest 
attractions  of  the  Park,  although  the  magnifi 
cent  scenery,  the  grand  canons,  and  the  lakes 
and  falls  will  remain  forever.  The  upper 
geyser  basin  is  about  four  miles  square.  The 
Firehole  river  runs  through  it,  with  forests 
and  high  mountains  on  either  side.  The  for 
mation  is  white,  and  the  vast  areas  look  like 
marble  quarries,  with  steam  and  high  erup 
tions  issuing  from  the  crevices.  An  English 
man,  who  was  rather  disappointed  with 
America  and  its  beauties  evidently,  was  com 
pelled  to  admit  that  these  geysers  were 
worthy  a  pilgrimage  from  England  ;  but 
when  his  attention  was  called  to  the  numer 
ous  hot  springs,  he  could  see  no  interest  in 
them.  He  was  greatly  exercised  because 
some  ambitious  young  men  had  cut  their 
names  at  the  very  base  of  "  Old  Faith 
ful."  He  raised  his  voice,  and,  in  a  gruff 
tone,  said  :  "  It  is  most  extraordinary, 
sir  ;  most  extraordinary."  A  wag  in  the 


22        From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

party  replied  :  "  Why,  sir,  I  have  seen  the 
names  of  Lord  Byron  and  Von  Humboldt 
cut  high  on  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt  !  "•— "  A 
most  extraordinary  statement,  sir  ;  it  can 
not  be  true."  According  to  his  notion  we 
have  nothing  here  in  America  equal  to  Eu 
rope,  with  the  exception  of  Niagara  Falls, 
and  the  best  view  of  them  is  from  the  Can 
ada  side. 

We  visited  all  the  geysers,  one  by  one.  The 
natives  do  their  washing  in  some  of  them, 
the  linen  coming  out  clean,  but  much  the 
worse  for  wear,  we  fear.  The  "  Bee  Hive"  is 
well  named,  resembling  the  thing  with  ex 
actness.  Even  so  the  "  Lion,"  the  "  Lioness 
and  Two  Cubs  "  resemble  the  living  things 
in  appearance,  as  from  the  continual  growl 
ing  which  they  keep  up.  "  The  Saw  Mill  " 
geyser  should  be  called  the  "  Rocket,"  as  it 
resembles  one  in  motion,  though  the  noise  is 
very  like  a  saw  mill.  Each  geyser  exhibits  its 
own  graceful  peculiarities,  and  no  human 
hands  could  arrange  jets  to  give  a  greater 
variety  and  beauty  to  the  grand  display. 

We  particularly  enjoyed  visiting  the  gey 
sers  with  a  party  of  scientists  sent  out  by 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  to  examine  the 
springs  with  regard  to  their  medicinal  quali- 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        23 


ties.  The  observations  and  discussions  with 
an  old  traveler  of  our  party,  who  is  also 
something  of  a  philosopher  as  well  as  a 
scientist,  were  highly  interesting  and  instruc 
tive.  Our  first  call  was  upon  "  Old  Faithful," 
whose  terrible  rumbling  was  heard  from  a 
distance,  and  whose  wonderful  gush  of  water 
shot  up  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
or  higher,  I  suppose,  than  the  spires  of  some 
of  our  city  churches.  As  the  wind  drove 
away  the  steam  from  the  boiling  hot  water, 
which  stood  in  a  solid  column,  we  gazed  in 
wonder  on  the  grandeur  which  words  failed 
to  express.  Our  driver  gave  us  an  interesting 
story,  which,  of  course,  we  were  all  expected 
to  believe.  In  the  winter,  he  says  "  that  they 
place  a  toboggan  over  '  Old  Faithful '  geyser, 
and  when  there  is  an  eruption  it  carries  them 
to  the  height  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
the  stream  freezes  to  ice,  and  they  ride  down 
and  off  into  the  country  for  miles."  We 
spent  the  day  in  wonder  and  surprise,  seated 
in  the  shade,  theorizing  upon  the  causes  of 
these  eruptions.  They  are  not  volcanic,  but 
the  result  of  chemical  combinations,  and 
probably  extend  all  over  the  country  as  far 
as  the  hot  springs  of  California.  Some  say 
that  the  geysers  are  failing  in  their  power, 


24       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


and  it  is  predicted  that  they  will  soon  be 
come  extinct  ;  but  they  will  probably  break 
out  in  new  places. 

The  area  of  Yellowstone  Park  is  over  two 
million  of  acres.  Its  surface  is,  in  a  large 
part,  rolling,  with  several  groups  and  short 
ranges  of  mountains  diversifying  it.  In  the 
eastern  part,  extending  its  whole  length,  and 
forming  the  watershed  between  the  Yellow 
stone  and  the  Biglow,  stand  the  rugged  vol 
canic  peaks  of  the  Yellowstone  Range.  Nearly 
all  the  Park  is  covered  with  a  dense  growth 
of  magnificent  fine  timber  ;  indeed,  west  of 
the  one  hundredth  meridian  there  is  no  area 
so  densely  timbered,  with  the  exception  of 
Washington,  now  a  state.  The  mean  elevation 
of  the  Park  above  sea  level  is  between  seven 
and  eight  thousand  feet,  which  implies  too 
cold  a  climate  to  admit  of  agriculture,  ex 
cept  in  certain  very  limited  localities.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  not  more  than  one  per  cent 
of  this  ever  can,  by  any  possibility,  be  used 
for  agricultural  purposes.  Except  along  the 
northern  border,  grazing  land  exists  only  in 
small  patches  of  a  few  acres  each.  There  are 
not,  so  far  as  known,  any  mines  or  mineral 
deposits  within  the  Park. 

During  the  months  of  June,  July  and  Au- 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        25 

gust  the  climate  is  pure  and  most  invigorat 
ing,  with  scarcely  any  rain  or  storms  of 
any  kind  ;  but  the  thermometer  frequently 
sinks  as  low  as  twenty-six  degrees.  There 
is  frost  every  month  in  the  year. 

All  through  the  Park  are  numerous  hot 
springs,  which  are  adorned  with  decorations 
more  beautiful  than  human  art  ever  con 
ceived,  and  which  have  required  thousands 
of  years  for  the  cunning  hand  of  nature  to 
form. 

Congress  acted  promptly  on  the  recom 
mendation  of  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden,  United 
States  Geologist,  who  explored  this  region, 
relative  to  this  reservation  for  a  National 
Park,  in  eighteen  seventy-one  and  eighteen 
seventy-two.  It  would  not  have  been  possible 
at  any  subsequent  period  to  have  reserved  it, 
for  it  would  have  been  taken  possession  of 
under  the  preemption  laws  of  the  United 
States.  To  Dr.  Hayden  are  we  indebted  for 
this  grand  National  Park,  which  will  be 
visited  more  and  more  by  our  own  people 
and  by  travelers  from  distant  parts  of  the 
world  to  see  the  geysers  and  the  grandest 
scenery  in  the  world. 

The  greater  part  of  the  surface  of  the  Park 
consists  of  high  rolling  plateaus,  broken  by 


26       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

stream  beds,  cliffs  and  canons.  Several  small 
groups  of  mountains  diversify  the  surface  ; 
among  them  the  Red  Mountains  in  the 
southern  part,  rising  seven  thousand  feet 
above  the  general  level,  or  more  than  ten 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea  ;  and  the  Wash- 
burn  group  near  the  middle  of  the  Park.  The 
eastern  border  of  the  Park  is  occupied  by  a 
high  rugged  range,  to  which  has  long  been 
attached  the  name  of  Yellowstone  Range. 
Index  Peak,  the  highest  measured  in  this 
range,  exceeds  eleven  thousand  seven  hun 
dred  feet  in  height.  In  the  northeastern 
corner  of  the  Park  is  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  Gallatin  Range,  culminating  in  Elec 
tric  Peak,  a  magnificent  summit,  eleven 
thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet 
above  the  sea,  which  overlooks  almost  the 
whole  Park. 

There  are  several  lakes,  the  Yellowstone, 
Shoshone,  Lewis  and  Heart.  The  shores  of 
the  Yellowstone  Lake  are  generally  flat,  and 
timber-covered  meadows  occur  at  rare  inter 
vals.  From  the  summit  of  Mount  Washburn 
we  have  a  grand  comprehensive  view  of  the 
Grand  Canon.  The  apparently  bottomless 
gorge  may  be  traced  from  its  head,  at  the 
Great  Falls  to  Junction  Valley,  a  distance  of 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        27 

nearly  twenty  miles.  The  depth  of  the  canon 
is  from  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  two 
hundred  feet,  and  the  width  is  almost  as  uni 
form  as  the  depth.  The  canon  is  without 
doubt  entirely  one  erosion,  and  has  been  cut 
by  the  waters  of  the  Yellowstone  river  since 
the  flow  of  the  Thyrolites,  and  probably  very 
greatly  since  the  conglomerate  forming  era. 
The  Yellowstone  rushes  down  from  the  Great 
Falls,  forming  one  of  the  wildest  torrents  that 
the  wrorld  can  show. 

There  are  glaciers  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Teton  Mountains,  at  elevations  much 
below  twelve  thousand  feet,  and  in  the  midst 
of  glacial  times  descended  in  immense  sheets 
to  four  thousand  and  five  thousand  feet.  It 
would,  therefore,  be  a  matter  of  surprise  if 
traces  of  glaciers  were  not  found  here,  not 
only  in  the  high  valleys,  but  upon  surfaces 
•of  the  broad  plateaus  of  the  Park. 

John  Coulter  was  the  first  white  man  who 
ever  saw  any  of  the  springs  or  geysers  in  this 
wonderful  region.  He  was  connected  with 
Lewis  and  Clark's  expedition,  and  on  their 
return,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  six,  left  the 
expedition  to  go  back  to  the  headwaters  of 
the  Missouri  to  trap  and  hunt.  After  a  nar 
row  escape  from  the  Black-feet  Indians,  he 


28       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


lived  for  some  time  with  the  Bannock  Indians, 
who  ranged    through  the  country  in  which 
the    Park    is  located.     In  eighteen  hundred 
and  ten  he  returned  to  St.    Louis,  and  told 
wonderful  tales  of  the  region,  which  were  not 
believed.    "  Coulter's    Hell  "    was   the    term 
afterwards  applied  to  the  region  by  the  hun 
ters  and  trappers  who  heard  of  it  from  him, 
but  had  never  been    there.     As  far  back  as 
eighteen     hundred     and    forty-four,     James 
Bridger,  one  of  the  best  and  most  noted  of 
Rocky  Mountain  guides,  is  said  to  have  des 
cribed  some  of  the  wonderful  springs  and  gey 
sers,  but  his  stories  were  supposed  to  be  made 
out  of  whole  cloth,  and,  although  it  is  said, 
he  endeavored    to  get  some  of  the  western 
newspaper  men   to  publish  some  of  his  tales, 
they  were  so  marvelous  that  no  one  would  do 
it.     Bridger,  in  one  of  his  recitals,  described 
an  immense  boiling  spring,  that  is  a  perfect 
counterpart  of  the  geysers  of  Iceland.     As  he 
was   uneducated,    and    probably   had    never 
heard  of  the  existence  of  such  natural  marvels 
elsewhere,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  he  spoke 
of  what  he  had   actually  seen.     In  eighteen 
hundred    and    seventy    the   Washburn  party 
explored   the  region,  and  two  of  its  number 
described  its  wonders  in  magazine  articles. 


...»  ,.    -  — -^ 

OLD  FAITHFUL  GEYSER,  YELLOWSTONE  PARK. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        29 


IT. 


THE  "UNEXPLORED  COUNTRY." — THE  BEAUTIES 
OF  YELLOWSTONE  PARK. 

DURING  the  summers  of  eighteen  hun 
dred  and  seventy-one  and  seventy-two, 
the  geological  survey  of  the  territories,  under 
Dr.  Hayden,  made  their  explorations  .of  the 
Park,  and  gave  the  world  the  first  scientific  ac 
count  of  the  region.  Within  the  limits  of  the 
Park  are  the  sources  of  two  of  our  largest 
rivers,  viz.,  the  Missouri  and  Columbia. 

We  have  had  a  great  desire  to  visit  the 
wonderful  country,  which  was  put  down  in 
our  earlier  geography  as  "  Unexplored  Coun 
try,"  ever  since  we  read  Dr.  Hayden's  report 
of  his  explorations  of  the  Yellowstone  in  eigh 
teen  hundred  and  seventy  or  seventy-two, 
published  by  Congress,  and  sent  us  by  Hon. 
S.  S.  Cox,  then  our  representative  in  Con 
gress.  Through  Dr.  Hayden's  influence  this 
country  was  devoted  by  Congress,  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy-two,  to  the  purposes  of 
a  National  Park,  under  the  control  of  the 


30       From   Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


Secretary  of  the  Interior,  represented  by  a 
superintendent,  whom  we  met  at  Mammoth 
Hot  Springs,  and  who  kindly  aided  us  by 
offering  to  give  us  letters  to  his  assistants  on 
our  route,  to  assist  us  through  the  Park.  His 
men  protect  and  carry  out  the  law  of  Con 
gress,  which  forbids  the  destruction,  defacing 
or  removal  of  any  natural  object  of  interest, 
however  small ;  and  who  protect  the  game, 
any  violation  being  punished  by  a  fine  or  im 
prisonment,  or  both.  To  avoid  trouble,  not 
the  least  formation  or  petrifaction  should  be 
removed. 

The  name,  "  Yellowstone  Park,"  does  not 
seem  an  appropriate  one  to  us,  and  many 
persons  get  a  wrong  impression  of  this  coun 
try  by  the  name  Park.  It  is  fifty-five  miles 
long  and  sixty-five  miles  wide,  and  contains 
three  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy-five 
square  miles,  and  is  nearly  as  large  as  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  situated  in  the  heart  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  about  one  thousand 
miles  from  St.  Paul  on  the  east,  and  about 
the  same  from  Portland,  Ore.,  on  the  west. 
It  is  in  Wyoming,  Idaho  and  Montana  Terri 
tories,  nearly  in  the  north-western  part  of  the 
first  named. 

Our  ride  from  the  Upper  Geysers  was  a 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        31 

most  enjoyable  one.  We  were  obliged  to  re 
turn  to  the  Lower  Geyser  basin  and  take  a 
temporary  road  across  the  country.  We  pass 
over  a  diversified  country,  with  picturesque 
mountain  scenery,  ascending  the  hills  by 
a  rough  road  of  ten  miles.  At  the  top 
of  the  mountain  we  look  back  upon  a  grand 
panorama  of  mountains  and  valleys  over 
looking  the  Yellowstone  Lake  and  the 
Yellowstone  Park,  and  upon  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains,  with  the  snow  upon  their  tops.  Not 
often  do  you  witness  a  grander  view.  We 
come  suddenly  upon  several  small  lakes, 
nestling  in  among  the  evergreens.  One  is 
called  "  Mary's  Lake,"  which  I  admire  on  ac 
count  of  its  being  the  name  of  the  dearest 
friend  I  have  on  earth.  We  soon  see  more 
hot  springs  in  the  distance,  and  come  to 
Sulphur  Lake,  which  smells  strongly  of  brim 
stone.  Alum  Creek  is  one  of  the  small  streams 
which  flow  into  the  Yellowstone,  and  out  of 
its  banks  come  red-hot,  hissing  springs  of 
water,  impregnated  with  alum,  which  gives  it 
a  green  color.  We  see  scarcely  any  game  on 
the  way,  but  one  of  the  superintendents, 
whom  we  have  for  a  passenger,  shows  us 
where  a  herd  of  elks  had  to  be  driven  from 
the  road  so  that  the  wagon  could  pass  ;  and 


32       Prom    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


last  spring  when  they  were  building  the  road 
near  the  obsidian  cliffs,  the  snow  was  so  deep 
that  they  had  to  take  their  men  away. 
They  left  one  man  to  guard  their  provisions 
in  a  tent.  At  night  two  bears  paid  him  a 
visit,  and  he  climbed  up  the  pole  of  the  tent, 
cut  a  hole  in  the  top  and  caught  hold  of  the 
limb  of  a  tree,  from  where  he  saw  the  bears 
helping  themselves  to  the  hams,  etc.  In  the 
morning  they  departed.  Before  night  he 
expected  their  return  and  climbed  a  tree, 
and  surely  enough  they  came.  He  shot  one, 
and  in  the  morning  was  glad  enough  to 
return  to  his  companions,  telling  them  that 
he  did  not  care  to  watch  any  longer,  and 
finally  told  them  the  reason.  They  returned 
the  next  day  and  hunted  the  other  bear  until 
they  shot  him. 

As  we  pass  the  divide  we  go  down  the 
mountain  and  come  out  upon  beautiful  parks, 
interspersed  with  green  fir  trees  and  covered 
with  beautiful  flowers  and  green  grass,  as 
handsome  as  if  laid  out  by  a  landscape  gar 
dener.  We  saw  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
Norway  spruce  trees  we  had  ever  seen,  except 
in  Norway. 

We  see  Sulphur  Mountains  in  the  distance, 
and  are  told  pure  sulphur  could  be  got  from 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        33 


them  in  great  quantities,  which  shows  itself 
in  heaps  of  bright  yellow  crystals.  We  soon 
come  upon  the  Yellowstone  River,  swiftly 
running  to  the  canon,  with  its  clear,  limpid 
water.  A  storm  has  been  threatening  us,  and 
all  at  once  we  had  use  for  our  rubber  over 
garments,  as  there  was  no  cover  to  the  wagon, 
and  great  hailstones  were  rained  upon  us 
with  too  much  force  for  our  comfort,  and  we 
lose  somewhat  the  view  of  the  rapids  in  the 
approach  of  the  upper  falls  of  the  Yellow 
stone.  The  scenery  is  grand,  but  we  are 
glad  to  get  to  the  temporary  hotel,  and  dry 
ourselves  by  the  warm  stove  and  get  a  good 
dinner.  We  start  out  at  once  for  the  lower 
falls,  through  the  mud,  to  get  a  view,  and  are 
well  paid.  Determined  to  get  up  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  and  see  the  falls  and 
the  Yellowstone  grand  cafion,  we  get  a  good 
night's  sleep,  with  plenty  of  blankets  over  us, 
and  are  ready  with  Mrs.  S.  for  a  six-mile 
tramp.  We  were  fortunate  in  providing  our 
selves  with  patent  mosquito  net  galashes,  as 
the  mosquitoes  and  flies  were  terrible — the 
largest  we  ever  saw,  and  terribly  in  earnest. 
Some  one  told  us  that  there  were  seventeen 
different  kinds  of  flies  in  the  Park,  and  that 
"  many  of  them  weighed  a  pound." 


34       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


We  reach,  with  difficulty,  "  Lookout  Point," 
and  are  disappointed  at  the  view  on  account 
of  the  fog.  We  wait,  amusing  ourselves  at 
throwing  stones  at  the  eagle's  nest,  full  .of 
young  eagles,  which  the  old  ones  are  guard 
ing,  and  giving  us  warning  by  their  screeches 
and  cries.  It  is  on  a  high  tower  by  the  side 
of  the  canon,  in  just  such  a  place  as  you 
would  expect  an  eagle's  nest.  Soon  we  are 
delighted  to  see  the  sun  disperse  the  fog,  and 
a  grand  scene  commands  our  view.  We  look 
in  one  direction,  and  the  sun  shines  upon  the 
grand  canon,  with  its  different  colored  sides, 
many  hued,  bright  and  shining,  as  the  sun 
shows  himself  upon  them  through  the  fog. 
The  Arkansas  canon  was  splendid,  but  lacks 
the  bright-colored  sides  of  the  rocks  which 
reveal  a  different  color  as  you  pass  the  eye 
down  the  canon,  one  thousand  to  one  thou 
sand  two  hundred  feet  deep,  and  the  same 
size  across  the  top,  with  the  little  stream  of 
the  Yellowstone,  as  it  looks  to  us,  which 
comes  dashing  down  from  the  lower  falls. 
We  turn  to  the  right,  and  see  the  falls  of  the 
Yellowstone,  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  high.  We  are  on  a  precipice,  and  we 
grow  dizzy  as  we  cast  our  eyes  down,  and  my 
wife  cautions  me  to  step  back  ;  but  having  a 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        35 


steady  head,  I  do  not  fear,  as  I  am  entranced 
by  the  view  of  so  many  colors,  like  the  colors 
of  the  rainbow.  On  the  summit  of  the  canon 
we  see  in  the  distance  projecting  rocks  look 
ing  like  some  old  castles  on  the  Rhine,  one 
especially  like  Heidelberg  Castle,  another  like 
a  pulpit,  with  the  preacher  in  earnest  deliver 
ing  his  sermon.  We  look  in  wonder,  and  re 
gret  to  leave  ;  and,  as  we  return,  step  out 
upon  the  projections  and  cliffs  on  the  way  to 
get  different  views  of  the  grand  canon  and 
falls.  It  is  delightful  to  walk  up  and  down 
the  trail  beside  the  canon,  which  is  twenty 
miles  long.  We  are  higher  than  Mt.  Washing 
ton,  and  the  air  is  so  clarified  that  it  is  diffi 
cult  to  breathe,  and  we  cannot  walk  rapidly 
without  resting.  After  rain,  the  air  is  cool 
and  invigorating,  and  a  six-mile  tramp  gives 
us  a  good  appetite.  We  are  disappointed  in 
not  finding  upon  the  table  some  of  the  moun 
tain  trout,  which  are  so  plenty  in  the  Yellow 
stone.  One  of  the  boys  stopping  at  the  hotel 
in  a  few  minutes  caught  a  string  of  twenty- 
five  to  thirty,  and  the  cook  gave  us  what 
remained  after  their  meal.  Here  they  give 
us  ham,  salt  meat,  etc.,  when  we  all  would 
like  so  much  better  the  trout,  which  can  be 
had  so  readily.  We  take  another  look  at  the 


36       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


upper  falls,  which  are  not  so  high  as  the  lower 
falls.  It  falls  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and 
cannot  be  painted  from  its  peculiar  scenery 
and  associations.  It  is  more  picturesque  and 
beautiful  than  the  lower.  These  falls  add 
great  beauty  to  the  scene.  Either  the  canon 
or  the  falls  alone  would  be  grand,  but 
when  seen  together  make  one  of  the  most 
charming,  awe-inspiring  scenes  in  the  world, 
and  I  have  to  yield  my  often  expressed  opin 
ion  that  the  "  Yosemite  Valley  "  stood  out  in 
all  its  glory  beyond  anything  else  in  nature 
as  God's  grandest  display  of  overpowering 
grandeur  and  inexpressible  beauty.  But  these 
equal  it,  although  it  is  difficult  to  compare 
them  with  the  Yosemite  ;  both  are  beyond 
human  description.  All  the  descriptions  I 
have  read  do  not  begin  to  equal  the  real  sight 
to  a  lover  of  the  sublime.  There  is  nothing  in 
the  wide  world  like  these  two  scenes.  Not  Ni 
agara  Falls,  which  plunges  from  only  half  the 
height  of  these  falls,  although  the  volume  of 
water  is  far  greater,  but  it  lacks  the  surround 
ings  to  give  it  the  highest  place  among  those 
glorious  works  which  God  has  made  for  his 
people  to  wonder  at  and  think  of  His  al 
mighty  power.  We  leave  here  with  regret, 
and  take  our  wagon  fourteen  miles  in  a 


From  -Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        37 

new  road  cut  through  the  pine  forests,  just 
wide  enough  to  go  pass,  and  when  we 
met  a  wagon  we  were  obliged  to  get  out  and 
cut  down  trees  to  let  it  turn  out  for  us.  Our 
ride  is  to  Norris'  Basin.  On  the  way  we  get 
a  view  of  Mount  Washburn  and  some  of  the 
mountains  near  the  lake.  We  did  not  visit 
the  lake,  as  there  is  no  steamer  there  from 
which  we  could  see  its  beauty,  and  we  are 
told  that  it  does  not  equal  Lake  George  or 
Como,  and  next  year  the  Park  Association  ex 
pects  to  have  a  road  there,  a  steamboat  on 
the  lake,  and  a  hotel.  The  mountains  are  not 
equal  to  those  of  Switzerland,  but,  alto 
gether,  where  in  the  wide  world  can  anyone 
see  such  geysers,  hot  springs,  canons,  falls, 
lakes,  mountains  and  picturesque  scenery? 
Our  government  ought  to  appropriate  suffi 
cient  to  make  good  roads,  and  give  such  pro 
tection  worthy  of  so  grand  a  reservation,  so 
that  all  can  enjoy  it. 

We  met  our  friend,  the  grumbling  Eng 
lishman,  who  complains  "  that  this  is  not  a 
park,  and  that  there  is  nothing  here  worth 
notice  but  the  geysers  and  canons."  He 
asked  me  :  "  Who  gave  those  stupid  names 
to  the  geysers  ?  "  I  replied  that  I  thought  that 
they  derived  their  names  from  some  peculiar 


38       From    Yellow  stone  Park  to  Alaska. 

appearance  connected  with  each  one.  I 
asked  him:  "  What  do  you  think  of  Yellow 
stone  Lake?"  He  said:  "  I  did  not  visit  it. 
The  lake  was  nothing  but  a  body  of  water 
surrounded  by  land,  which  one  could  see 
anywhere  without  coming  so  far."  This  is  a 
grand  lake,  with  numerous  mountains  around 
it,  each  near  eleven  thousand  feet  high,  and 
three  more,  each  about  ten  thousand  feet 
high,  besides,  in  the  Park  twenty-five  others 
quite  high.  Yet  these  mountains  and  lakes 
are  nothing  to  our  Englishman,  and  he  was 
terribly  disappointed  that  the  geysers  did  not 
all  go  off  for  his  benefit.  We  did  not  have 
time  to  visit  the  Hoodoo  Mountains,  which 
are  east  of  the  Park,  on  account  of  our 
steamer  sailing  from  Puget  Sound  on  the 
twenty-sixth.  Those  who  have  visited  these 
mountains  say  that  they  are  of  great  altitude, 
very  wild  and  difficult  of  access,  and  full  of 
petrified  forests  and  Rocky  Mountain  sheep. 
We  will  have  to  wait  visiting  this  country 
until  another  time.  From  the  protection 
given  the  wild  animals  and  birds  in  the  Park 
by  the  government,  the  Park  must  eventually 
be  full  of  elk,  antelope,  big  horn  sheep, 
foxes,  coyotes,  badgers,  otter,  beaver,  mink, 
rabbit,  squirrels,  etc.  We  saw  but  few,  as  at 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        39 


this  time  of  year  they  go  to  the  moun 
tains.  What  we  did  see  were  comparatively 
tame.  We  asked  the  superintendent  if  we 
should  be  allowed  to  kill  a  bear,  if  one  ap 
proached.  He  replied,  cautiously,  "  don't  let 
the  bear  hurt  you." 


40       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


III. 


THE    RETURN    FROM     THE     PARK. — THE     NORTH 
ERN       PACIFIC      RAILROAD. — HELENA. THE 

BEAUTIES    OF    THE    COLUMBIA    RIVER. 

OUR  return  from  the  tour  of  the  Yellow 
stone  Park  was  devoid  of  interest,  and  we 
were  glad  to  get  a  good  rest  at  the  Mammoth 
Hot  Springs  Hotel,  where  we  found  letters 
and  papers  waiting  us  from  home.  We  re 
turn  to  Livingstone  and  continue  our  journey 
on  the  splendidly  equipped  cars  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  with  its  elegant 
buffet  cars,  where  one  can  get  as  good 
a  meal  as  at  most  hotels,  and  at  reasonable 
rates.  The  road  is  so  smooth,  but  little  motion 
is  observed,  and  the  ride  is  a  pleasant  one, 
except  in  this  hot,  dry,  dusty  season. 
We  found  it  much  more  comfortable  at 
home,  when  we  expected  as  we  got  further 
north  to  find  cooler  weather.  West  of  Liv 
ingstone  the  scenery  is  much  more  interest 
ing  than  east.  We  come  to  Gallatin,  where  the 
rivers  Jefferson,  Madison  and  Gallatin  come 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        41 


into  one  channel,  forming  the  Missouri  river. 
The  scenery  here  is  grand,  as  the  waters  pass 
through  the  wild  and  rocky  canon  ;    and  here 
begins  the  Missouri  river,  the  greatest  in  the 
United  States,  nearly  four  thousand  five  hun 
dred  miles  long.     We  soon  come  to  Helena,  the 
capital  of  Montana,  where  we  are  met  at  the 
depot  by  Rev.  Frank  D.   Kelsey    and   family. 
The  Rev.   Mr.   Kelsey  is  pastor    of  a  promi 
nent  church  here,  the  Congregational,  and  is 
highly  spoken  of  as  a  successful,  able  minis 
ter.     One    of   the    millionaire    cattle    dealers 
here  said  :  "They  did  not  need  any  ministers 
here,  but  it  was  a  good  place  for  Mr.  Kelsey's 
promising  boys."     Helena  is  said  to  be  one  of 
the  wealthiest    places,/™  rata,  in  the  United 
States.     There    are    five    or   six   millionaires, 
and  we  were  shown  several  private  residences 
costing   from  forty  thousand   to  sixty    thou 
sand    dollars.     Even    some    of    the  ministers 
take  a  hand  in  mining  stocks.     One  made  one 
thousand  five  hundred    dollars,   and    was  so 
elated    that  he    put    his    own  and  -his   wife's 
money  on  a  venture,  and  lost  it  all.     Helena 
has  a  population  of  ten  thousand.      It  is  near 
some    of     the    best    gold    and    silver    mines 
in     the    country  ;    within     twenty-five     miles 
there    is    said    to    be  three  thousand    quartz 


42       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


mines.  One  mine  was  sold  lately  to  English 
capitalists  for  one  million  five  hundred  thou 
sand  dollars.  This  territory  is  as  valuable 
and  noted  for  its  grazing  lands  as  Dakota  for 
its  wheat  lands,  and  many  fortunes  have  been 
made  in  the  cattle  business  ;  as  many  million 
aires  have  made  their  fortunes  in  the  latter 
business  as  by  mining.  Mr.  Kelsey  pointed 
out  an  old  mine  where  gold  to  the  value  of 
thirty  million  dollars  had  been  taken  out. 

We  pass  through  the  Flathead  Indian 
reservation  for  many  miles  and  see  the 
Indians  at  the  stations,  some  of  the  babes 
with  a  board  pressed  to  the  top  of  the  head  to 
flatten  it.  We  pass  some  beautiful  lakes,  and 
are  glad  to  ride  along  a  rapid  river,  called 
Clark's  Forks.  The  scenery  is  quite  in  con 
trast  with  the  dry  fields  covered  with  sage 
bush,  and  this  river  is  an  oasis  in  this  barren- 
looking  country,  and  the  scenery  is  quite  pic 
turesque  as  we  wind  along  the  stream.  We 
stop  at  Spokane  Falls,  the  first  town  of  im 
portance  on  the  road  in  Washington,  on  a 
river  of  the  same  name,  with  splendid  water 
power,  and  a  thriving,  growing  city.  It  had 
more  the  appearance  of  life  and  energy,  judg 
ing  by  the  business  about  the  station  and  in 
the  distance,  than  any  place  we  have  seen. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        43 

In  Italy  at  the  stations  our  car  conductors 
give  us  five  notes  of  warning  before  leaving 
the  station,  but  on  this  road  they  do  not  seem 
to  give  one,  and  one  of  the  ladies,  formerly 
a  citizen  of  Columbus,  now  of  New  York,  was 
left,  and  we  had  great  difficulty  to  get  the 
conductor  to  stop  the  train  for  her.  By 
being  threatened  and  cajoled,  he  stopped,  but 
would  not  run  back  to  the  station,  and  we 
were  glad  to  see  a  dog-cart  driven  by  a  young 
lady,  whom  we  had  seen  drive  up  to  the  station 
with  two  other  young,  handsome-looking 
girls,  evidently  to  take  a  look  at  the  people  in 
the  cars  as  they  passed  ;  when  the  one  driving 
saw  our  lady  friend  had.  been  left  behind,  she 
said  :  "  Girls,  get  out,  quick,"  and  politely 
offered  her  services  to  overtake  the  train, 
which  was  accepted,  and  we  were  glad  to  see 
them  coming  with  all  speed.  A  five  dollar 
bill  was  offered  her  for  her  kind  deed, 
but  she  declined  to  take  it,  with  a  vigorous 
shake  of  the  head.  We  gave  the  young  lady 
in  the  dog-cart  three  cheers,  which  made  the 
welkin  ring. 

We  leave  the  cars  early  next  morning  at 
"The  Dalles,"  to  take  steamer  for  Portland, 
which  is  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  distant 
by  river.  We  are  delighted  to  get  "where 


44       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


rolls  the  Oregon."  The  Columbia  river  is 
noted  for  its  grand  scenery,  and  our  expecta 
tions  are  more  than  realized.  It  is  navigable 
over  seven  hundred  miles.  "  The  Dalles  "  is 
a  beautiful  town,  with  many  home-like  resi 
dences,  with  well-kept  grounds.  From  here 
a  large  amount  of  fruit  is  shipped  east.  Co 
lumbia  river  is  full  of  salmon,  and  they  have  a 
sort  of  patent  floating  fish-wheel  which  scoops 
them  up  in  great  numbers.  They  say  "  one 
fisherman  caught  so  large  a  quantity  that  he 
could  not  dispose  of  them,  and  had  to  haul 
five  tons  on  to  his  fields  for  compost."  We 
saw  some  salmon  weighing  from  thirty  to 
fifty  pounds,  which  were  selling  at  two  cents 
per  pound.  The  scenery  going  down  the 
river  is  grand,  and  as  the  river  changes  we 
come  suddenly  upon  something  new  to  attract 
our  attention.  In  the  middle  of  the  river  is 
an  island  used  by  the  Indians  to  bury  their 
dead.  They  build  huts,  into  which  they 
throw  their  dead  bodies,  and  when  full,  build 
others. 

We  ride  about  fifty  miles  and  take  cars 
around  the  Cascades,  six  miles,  and  then  take 
another  steamer  fifty-five  miles  down  the 
river.  Our  attention  is  soon  called  to  a  grand 
old  snow-covered  mountain  as  it  lifts  its  peak 


Prom    Yellowstone   Park  to  Alaska.        45 


high  above  the  river.  It  is  Mount  Hood, 
eleven  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet  high,  and  we  see  it  all  the  way  to 
Portland,  together  with  Mount  Adams  and 
Mount  St.  Helens,  all  the  same  height,  look 
ing  so  grandly,  covered  with  snow-white  gla 
ciers,  and  we  occasionally  see  beautiful  water 
falls.  We  were  glad  at  Portland  to  get  an  oil 
painting  by  a  celebrated  local  artist  of  Mount 
Hood  and  Muttnowah  and  Latourelle  Falls. 
We  pass  old  Fort  Vancouver.  Now  there  is 
a  thriving  village  here  and  large  military  bar 
racks  station.  We  soon  leave  the  beautiful 
Columbia  river,  which  goes  on  to  the  Pacific 
ocean,  and  come  upon  the  Williamette  river, 
whose  scenery  is  not  so  grand,  but  pictur 
esque  and  beautiful.  In  the  distance  we  see 
Portland,  situated  upon  rising  ground  from 
the  river,  which  gives  a  good  view  of  the 
beautiful  High  School  building,  costing  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars, 
and  of  many  of  the  costly  private  dwellings 
located  upon  the  hill-side.  Crowning  all  is  a 
most  picturesque  park,  with  its  pine  and  fir 
trees  and  deep  ravine  and  glades,  a  spot  which 
nature  has  adorned  in  its  most  generous  way 
for  such  a  purpose.  Portland  is  a  handsome 
city,  with  more  fine  stone  blocks  of  stores 


46       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


than  any  city  of  its  size  we  have  ever  seen. 
The  city  has  about  sixty  thousand  population 
and  has  a  business-like  appearance,  and,  it  is 
said,  there  are  fifteen  or  twenty  millionaires 
here.  On  a  clear  day  you  can  see  from  the 
park  five  or  six  snow-crowned  mountains. 
Mount  Hood,  Mount  Jefferson,  Adams,  St. 
Helens  and  Tacoma.  No  more  grand  moun 
tains  can  be  seen  anywhere.  They  seem  to 
start  out  by  themselves  and  invite  you  to  gaze 
upon  them,  and  you  never  tire  of  the  sight. 
Portland  is  one  hundred  miles  from  the  Pa 
cific  ocean,  and  some  predict  that  Tacoma,  on 
Puget  Sound,  will  be  the  great  city  of  the 
Pacific  coast,  when  Alaska  shall  have  devel 
oped  her  great  resources. 

We  stop  here  to  spend  the  Sabbath,  expect 
ing  to  take  steamer  for  Port  Townsend,  oppo 
site  Victoria,  British  Columbia,  on  the  San 
Juan  de  Fuca  Strait,  and  from  there  the 
steamer  Idaho  for  Alaska.  Tacoma  is  a 
growing  city,  with  a  first-class  hotel,  cost 
ing  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  a  fine 
building  erected  by  the  Board  of  Trade.  In 
deed,  I  have  never  seen  outside  the  great 
cities  their  equal.  Three  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  was  spent  here  last  year  for 
water-works,  and  with  its  fine  Episcopal  semi- 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        47 


nary  for  young  ladies,  costing  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  its  public  school  buildings 
and  college,  and  its  location  at  the  terminus 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  its  excellent 
harbor,  where  the  largest  ocean  vessels  can 
ride,  has  a  great  future  before  it,  and  may  be 
come  a  great  city. 

As  we  sat  on  the  veranda  of  the  Tacoma, 
our  attention  was  called  to  a  grand  sight  of  a 
snow  mountain,  lifting  its  tall  peak  through 
the  smoky  sky,  and  surprised  us  with  its 
lofty  grandeur  and  beauty.  It  was  Mount 
Tacoma,  fourteen  thousand  four  hundred 
and  forty-four  feet  high.  We  have  seen  no 
such  mountain  in  America,  and  it  reminds  us 
of  Mount  Blanc  as  we  saw  it  when  the  clouds 
suddenly  lifted  above  it  and  revealed  it  in  all 
its  glory  and  majesty.  Fifteen  glaciers  are 
said  to  be  on  it,  and  a  visit  to  it  is  worth  the 
journey  of  three  thousand  miles.  Our  Eng 
lishman  softened  a  good  deal  as  we  sat  to 
gether  and  gazed  upon  the  scene.  He  said, 
with  enthusiasm,  "  That  is  worth  a  ourney 
from  London  to  see  !  " 


48       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


IV. 


TACOMA. — THE     MOUNTAIN     SCENERY,     AND     IN 
TERESTING     SURROUNDINGS. 

HTACOMA  is  beautifully  located  on  an  arm 
J^       of  Puget  Sound.     We  rode  about   the 
city,  and  were  delighted  with  the  many  hand 
some    homes,     surrounded     with    vines    and 
flowers.     We  never  saw  more  beautiful  roses 
and  honeysuckles,  running  in  great  profusion 
over  the  verandas  and  porches  of  the  houses. 
The  climate  is  never  very  cold,  but  extremely 
wet  in  the  winter.     The  lumber  trade  is  an 
important     branch     of     industry,    and    one 
saw-mill    can    cut    two    hundred    and    forty 
thousand  feet  of  boards  in  one  day — perhaps 
the  largest  lumber-mill  in   the  United  States. 
The    whole    city  is  well    laid    out    on    rising 
ground  overlooking  Puget  Sound,  and  in  the 
distance    Mount    Tacoma.     This   grand    old 
mountain  on  one  side,  and  Puget  Sound  on 
the    other,  give    splendid  scenery.     There  is 
quite  a  contest  between  the  people  of  Tacoma 
and  some  of  the  rival  towns  in  regard  to  the 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        49 

name  which  the  mountain  should  bear.  On 
our  way  from  Portland  we  came  in  view  of 
a  mountain  which  they  called  Rainier.  I 
never  had  heard  of  the  name,  and  asked, 
"  When  we  should  see  Mount  Tacoma  ?  "  No 
answer  was  given.  It  seems  the  other  towns 
who  claim  an  interest  in  the  grand  old  moun 
tain,  and  are  jealous  of  Tacoma,  prefer 
Rainier,  after  an  old  French  navigator.  The 
Tacoma  people  claim  that  Tacoma  is  the  old 
Indian  name,  and  means  "  soaring  toward 
heaven."  Many  of  the  towns  and  rivers 
retain  their  Indian  names,  which  are  more 
appropriate  than  any  high-sounding  name 
of  old  cities  and  towns. 

There  are  few  points  on  the  American  con 
tinent  that  can  rival  Oregon  for  grand  and  im 
posing  scenery.  The  lofty  peak  of  Mount 
Hood,  like  a  magnificent  Egyptian  pyramid 
sheeted  in  snow,  and  set  upon  an  immense 
green  wall,  is  the  most  beautiful  mountain  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  if  symmetry  of  form  be 
regarded  as  an  element  in  beauty  ;  ami  in 
height  and  massiveness  "it  is  surpassed  only 
by  Mount  Tacoma,  fourteen  thousand,  four 
hundred  and  forty-four  feet  high.  The  great 
sugar  loaf  of  Mount  Saint  Helena,  though 
on  the  Washington  side  of  the  Columbia 


50       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


River,  belongs  to  the  scenery  of  Oregon,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  neighboring  territory, 
and  so  does  Mount  Adams.  All  three  of 
these  glittering  peaks,  as  well  as  the  summit 
of  Mount  Tacoma  far  in  the  north,  and  of 
Jefferson  on  the  southern  horizon,  we  saw 
from  the  beautiful  park  rising  above  Port 
land  on  the  south.  The  lower  peaks  and 
ranges  of  the  Coast  and  Cascade  Moun 
tains,  and  the  California  and  Siskiyou  Moun 
tains  in  southern  Oregon,  present  to  the  eye 
a  thousand  pleasing  outlines. 

In  the  grandeur  of  its  shores  the  Columbia 
ranks  first  of  American  rivers.  Its  current 
is  as  impetuous  as  that  of  the  Mississippi  ; 
its  mountain  walls  and  palisades  are  far 
loftier  than  those  of  the  Hudson  ;  cataracts 
like  those  of  the  Yosemite  Valley  dash  over 
its  basaltic  cliffs.  The  Maltnomah  Falls, 
Columbia  River,  are  nine  hundred  feet  high, 
and  the  Gatouroll  Falls  are  equal  to  Yose 
mite  or  Nevada  Falls.  We  took  steamer  at 
the  Dalles,  where  the  Columbia  buries  itself 
in  a  profound  crevice,  whose  depth  has  never 
been  fathomed,  showing  of  its  surface  only 
as  much  as  can  be  compassed  by  a  stone's 
throw  ;  at  Astoria  it  becomes  a  broad  tidal 
estuary,  whose  farther  shores  lie  in  dim  dis- 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


tance  ;  at  the  Cascades  it  is  a  foaming  head 
long  torrent  ;  at  the  mouth  of  the  Willa 
mette  it  is  a  placid  lake,  encircling  many 
green  islands.  The  Williamette  has  an 
emerald-green  current,  and  flows  between 
gentle  slopes,  through  farms  and  woodlands, 
past  orchards  and  pretty  villages — a  placid 
and  idyllic  stream,  save  where  it  leaps  down 
forty  feet  in  one  bound  at  its  falls,  and  makes 
a  small  Niagara  of  white  foam  and  rainbow- 
tinted  spray. 

My  time  is  too  limited  to  tell  you  of  the 
beautiful  city  of  Portland,  with  its  pictur 
esque  park  and  cemetery  overlooking  the 
surrounding  country,  with  its  snow-capped 
mountains  and  the  rivers  in  view.  One  can 
see  here  all  the  grandeur  and  loveliness  in 
landscapes  that  mountains,  rivers,  valleys, 
waterfalls,  lakes  and  ocean  can  give,  a  com 
bination  of  Switzerland,  New  England  and 
Norway.  Washington  possesses  a  great 
multitude  of  harbors,  perhaps  more  than 
any  other  country  of  equal  extent  on 
the  globe.  Puget  Sound,  which  has  an 
average  width  of  two  miles,  and  a  depth 
never  less  than  eight  fathoms,  runs  one  hun 
dred  miles  inland.  Captain  Wilkes  says  : 
"  I  venture  nothing  in  saying  there  is  no 


52       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

country  in  the  world  that  possesses  water 
equal  to  this." 

We  took  steamer  from  Tacoma  for  Port 
Townsend,  across  Puget  Sound,  where  we 
took  the  steamer  Idaho  for  Alaska.  Tacoma 
is  a  delightful  city,  with  a  splendid  harbor, 
and  no  doubt  when  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  finish  their  road  from  Pasco  on  the 
main  line,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  miles  to  Tacoma,  on  Puget  Sound,  and 
all  their  shops  are  removed  here,  with  their 
great  interest  in  Tacoma's  prosperity,  this 
will  be  one  of  the  large  cities  on  Puget  Sound. 

When  the  lumber  interests  shall  fail  in 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  as  they  will  at  no 
far  distaat  day,  this  great  country  can  sup 
ply  the  country  for  many  years,  and  Michi 
gan  lumber  dealers  are  already  investing 
largely  in  forest  lands  on  Puget  Sound.  A 
great  city  is  to  arise  on  these  shores,  and 
Tacoma,  Port  Townsend,  and  Seattle  are 
each  claiming  that  there  are  special  reasons 
why  it  should  be  the  great  city  of  the  future. 

We  remained  two  days  at  Port  Townsend, 
and  were  delighted  with  the  place  and  its 
commercial  advantages.  It  is  the  port  of 
entry  for  the  Puget  Sound  district,  and  has 
a  large  trade  with  vessels  coming  in  and 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        53 


with  the  islands  on  the  sound.  After  break 
fast  we  took  a  stroll  through  the  town,  and 
were  surprised  at  its  large  and  beautiful 
stores  and  fine  stone  building  occupied  by 
the  First  National  Bank.  We  then  walked 
up  the  long  steps  leading  to  the  residences, 
and  had  a  fine  view  of  the  harbor,  and  the 
Olympian  on  the  right  and  Cascade  Snow 
Mountains  on  the  left,  with  Mount  Rainier 
and  Mount  Adams  towering  above  them  all 
in  majestic  glory.  The  citizens  of  Tacoma 
say  that  Tacoma  is  the  original  Indian  name, 
and  that  Rainier  was  a  drunken  Frenchman, 
who  had  charge  of  a  company  of  marines  on 
the  ship  commanded  by  Vancouver,  the 
great  navigator,  who  discovered  this  region, 
and  gave  his  name  to  Vancouver  Island. 
Puget  was  mate  on  the  vessel,  and  from  him 
came  the  name  Puget  Sound. 

Fort  Townsend  is  in  full  view  across  the 
bay.  We  were  met  by  the  health  officer  of 
the  port,  Doctor  Minkler,  formerly  of  Ober- 
lin,  Ohio,  and  when  he  learned  we  were  from 
Ohio,  we  were  no  longer  strangers,  but  taken 
to  his  home  to  dine,  and  driven  in  his  car 
riage  about  the  place,  which  is  on  a  high  emi 
nence,  from  which  you  can  see  Seattle  and 
Victoria,  the  latter  in  British  Columbia, 


54       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


across  the  Strait  of  San  Juan  de  Fuca,  forty 
miles  way.  We  never  saw  better  corn,  pota 
toes,  fruit  and  vegetables  than  here.  One 
man,  on  about  three  hundred  square  feet  of 
ground,  had  raised  enough  in  five  or  six  years 
to  pay  for  the  ground,  a  good  house  and  out 
buildings,  and  the  living  of  his  family.  His 
fruit — cherries,  pears,  apples  and  small 
fruits — and  his  vegetables  were  splendid.  He 
raised  strawberries,  fourteen  of  which 
weighed  a  pound.  From  this  ground  the  fir 
trees  were  cut,  proving  that  the  soil  on  which 
grow  this  kind  of  trees  produces  as  well  as 
any  soil. 

Seattle  is  an  enterprising  city  of  ten  thou 
sand  population,  and  seems  to  have  more  life 
than  the  other  places  here,  and  is  building  a 
canal  from  the  Sound  to  Lake  Union,  about 
three  miles,  so  that  they  can  take  vessels 
from  the  Sound  to  a  fresh-water  lake,  which 
at  once  takes  off  the  barnacles  from  the  bot 
toms  of  the  ships,  saving  a  great  expense  of 
cleaning  them  off.  The  place  is  noted  for 
the  operations  of  a  mob  on  the  Chinese,  who 
attempted  to  drive  them  off,  but  were  pre 
vented  by  a  police  force  made  up  of  the  best 
citizens,  including  business  men,  clergymen 
and  other  professional  men.  One  of  the  mob 


From    Yellmv stone  Park  to  Alaska.        55 

was  killed  and  several  wounded.  The  mob 
finally  raised  two  thousand  dollars  to  pay 
the  fare  of  the  Chinese  to  San  Francisco,  at 
ten  dollars  per  head.  When  the  Judge  of  the 
United  States  Court  heard  of  the  movement, 
he  directed  all  the  Chinese  to  be  brought  be 
fore  him,  and  told  them  "that  all  who  chose 
to  go  of  their  own  free  will  could  go  ;  all 
that  chose  to  remain  should  be  protected  to 
the  extent  of  the  law,"  and  United  States 
soldiers  were  sent  for  to  protect  them.  About 
one-half  remained.  As  a  result,  house  ser 
vants  and  laundry  work  have  doubled  their 
wages,  and  they  would  be  glad  to  have  them 
return. 

Victoria,  on  Vancouver's  Island,  the  capi 
tal  of  British  Columbia,  is  a  fine  specimen  of 
an  old  English  town,  of  about  seven  thou 
sand  five  hundred  population,  with  splendid 
roads  in  every  direction,  which  makes  the 
drives  about  the  city  a  delight,  together  with 
the  well-kept  home-like  residences,  embow 
ered  in  honeysuckles,  roses  and  other  flowers, 
which  made  the  place  look  more  like  Califor 
nia,  which  is  remarkable,  considering  it  is  in 
latitude  forty-eight  degrees  twenty-five  min 
utes  north  ;  about  the  same  latitude  as  the 
Straits  of  Labrador,  or  about  five  hundred 


56       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

miles  north  of  Columbus,  Ohio.  After  waiting 
two  days  for  our  steamer,  the  Idaho,  we  are 
at  last  on  our  way  to  Alaska. 

Our  route  to  Alaska  lies  through  an  inland 
passage  all  the  way  for  about  twelve  hundred 
miles,  only  passing  out  into  the  Pacific  Ocean 
a  few  hours.  The  scenery  is  much  like  that 
of  the  coast  of  Norway  and  the  Baltic  and 
Gulf  of  Finland,  but  more  grand^  with  the 
mountains  on  either  side,  covered  with  pine, 
fir,  hemlock,  cedar  and  spruce,  rising  from 
the  shores  to  the  height,  in  some  places,  of 
from  five  to  ten  thousand  feet,  and  all  the 
way  snow-covered  mountains,  and  water 
falls,  with  rivers  from  glaciers  flowing  many 
miles  to  the  sea.  This  inland  passage  ex 
tends  to  Chilkat,  Alaska,  for  about  twelve 
hundred  miles.  There  are  numerous  straits, 
channels,  sounds,  inlets  and  rivers  running 
out  in  every  direction,  and  every  few  miles 
we  come  suddenly  upon  some  fresh  surprise 
of  sublime  beauty  of  scene.  At  Wright's 
Sound  we  can  look  in  every  direction,  and  see 
bays  and  inlets  coming  in  through  the  moun 
tains  to  a  central  point,  rendering  the  scene 
one  of  unusual  grandeur.  Our  good  steamer 
moves  along  so  quietly  through  the  smooth 
water  that  we  can  hardly  realize  that  we  are 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        57 

in  motion  What  a  tour  for  rest  for  the 
weary  !  No  telegrams,  no  borrowers,  no 
beggars,  no  bores,  no  mails,  no  newspapers 
for  many  days.  After  passing  Vancouver's 
Island,  the  largest  in  this  vicinity,  and  which 
the  British  have  not  yet  explored,  we  pass 
through  a  large  number  of  islands,  those  at 
the  right  called  San  Juan  Islands.  We  meet 
at  Nanimo,  the  coaling  station,  the  steamer 
Anchor,  from  Alaska,  and  in  the  beautiful 
bay,  when  a  cannon  is  fired,  fourteen  distinct 
echoes  are  counted  as  they  reverberate  among 
the  mountains.  We  meet  a  number  of  ca 
noes  with  Indians  on  their  way  probably  to 
Victoria  ;  when  one  of  the  ladies  attempts 
to  turn  the  camera  upon  one  of  the  canoes 
with  three  Indian  women,  they  paddle  out  of 
the  way  as  fast  as  possible.  We  sail  up  Naha 
Bay  and  stop  at  Loring,  to  take  on  a  quan 
tity  of  barrels  of  salmon.  There  is  a  fishing 
and  packing  establishment  here,  under  the 
direction  of  a  Cincinnati  man.  He  expects 
to  ship  two  thousand  barrels  of  salmon  this 
summer.  He  caught  and  packed  three  thou 
sand  ;  one  hundred  in  one  day  ;  and  could 
have  caught  five  thousand,  if  he  could  have 
packed  them.  The  salmon  cost  him  about 
one  cent  apiece,  averaging  eight  pounds 


58       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


each.  There  are  a  number  of  Indian  men 
and  women  at  work  washing  and  prepar 
ing  them  for  salting,  which  is  done  rap 
idly,  as  if  they  were  experts  at  the  business. 
The  men  receive  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents 
per  day  and  the  women  one  dollar.  Anyone 
who  doubts  the  Indian's  willingness  to  work 
should  see  these  industrious  people.  The 
superintendent  says  he  has  more  applicants 
than  he  can  employ. 

We  take  a  boat  through  the  rapids  to  a 
beautiful  little  lake,  called  Adorable  Lake, 
after  Miss  Dora  Belle  Miller,  daughter  of  the 
late  Senator  Miller,  of  Califonia,  who  visited 
here  last  year.  Our  Captain,  who  is  a  Swede, 
piloted  our  boat  over  the  rapids  and  around 
the  lovely  little  lake  to  the  falls  of  Naha 
river,  showing  us  the  salmon  traps  across 
the  river.  When  the  tide  comes  in  they  are 
washed  down  the  river,  when  it  goes  out  the 
passage-way  is  stopped  up,  and  they  are 
easily  scooped  up. 

In  the  morning  early  we  find  ourselves  at 
Fort  Wrangell,  an  old  Indian  town,  formerly 
the  port  to  the  Cassian  mines,  which  are  not 
now  worked,  and  only  a  few  whites  remain, 
with  a  Presbyterian  Missionary  Station,  with 
one  missionary,  Rev.  Mr.  Young,  who  has 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        59 

been  here  seven  years,  and  has  a  church  of 
over  fifty  members,  all  Indians.  Mr.  Young 
is  Post-master  also  ;  we  were  there  on  Sunday 
and  the  missionary  had  to  give  up  church 
service  to  open  the  mail.  There  are  public 
schools,  under  the  care  of  the  Government, 
and  a  training  school,  under  the  charge  of 
Mrs.  Young,  who  is  enthusiastic  in  her  work, 
and  has  just  procured  a  team  of  horses  for 
the  farm  (the  first  ever  here),  by  her  efforts 
among  her  friends  in  Portland.  There  is  a 
farm  of  fifteen  hundred  acres  connected  with 
the  station,  raising  potatoes,  turnips,  etc. 
Mr.  Young  informed  us  that  one  thousand 
acres  could  be  cut  with  a  mower.  They 
intend  to  demonstrate  that  there  is  good 
soil  in  Alaska  for  farming  purposes.  Gover 
nor  Swinford,  Governor  of  Alaska,  went  on 
shore  with  us,  and  added  a  free  man  to  the 
town,  by  freeing  a  slave.  The  Indians  in 
Alaska  make  slaves  of  their  prisoners  of  war, 
and  also  of  the  children  who  have  lost  their 
parents,  or  when  they  can  capture  one. 
This  man  who  was  freed  was  stolen  from 
Victoria  when  a  boy  of  nine  years  ;  his  mas 
ter  had  sent  him  with  a  canoe,  gun  and 
blankets  on  some  errand  to  his  fishing-place, 
and  he  escaped,  and  was  overtaken  by  his 


60       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


master  at  Wrangell.  The  Justice  of  the 
Peace  took  the  master  prisoner,  knowing  the 
Governor  was  coming,  and  this  delightful 
Sunday  morning  he  was  given  his  emancipa 
tion  papers,  with  the  great  seal  of  the  Gov 
ernment  attached,  which  the  Indians  always 
respect  ;  they  gave  him  the  canoe,  gun  and 
blankets,  and  sent  him  free  about  one  thou 
sand  miles  to  Victoria,  where  he  was  cap 
tured  so  many  years  ago. 

The  Indians  live  in  comfortable  log  houses 
covered  with  boards.  Some  of  them  are 
painted  and  are  quite  comfortable,  setup  on 
piles,  with  only  one  room,  with  a  raised 
platform  on  one  side  of  the  room  for  seats, 
there  are  no  chairs,  but  some  bunks  for 
beds.  In  the  center  of  the  room  the  floor  is 
not  laid  and  a  fire  is  made,  on  which  the  sal 
mon  is  roasted  ;  the  house  is  full  of  smoke, 
as  there  is  no  chimney,  the  smoke  going  out 
of  a  hole  in  the  roof  of  the  house.  The  In 
dians  were  mostly  away  from  their  homes 
on  their  summer  fishing  excursion,  some  of 
them  forty  miles  away  on  fishing  claims 
inherited  from  their  fathers.  They  respect 
the  rights  of  others,  and  on  no  account  will 
they  trespass  upon  the  claims  of  others. 
Some  of  our  party  tried  to  bargain  with  the 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        61 

Indian  women  for  the  silver  ornaments  and 
other  curios.  They  are  sharp  at  a  bargain, 
and  when  their  price  was  accepted,  they 
wanted  more,  putting  their  fingers  upon 
their  eyes,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  do  you  see 
anything  green  ? "  One  of  the  most  curious 
things  which  attracted  our  attention  was  the 
curiously  carved  poles,  from  ten  to  fifty  feet 
high,  in  front  of  the  more  pretentious 
houses.  There  are  various  interpretations 
given  to  the  curious  devices  carved  upon  the 
poles.  The  eagle,  the  bear,  the  whale,  the 
crow,  the  raven,  the  frog  and  other  animals 
were  carved.  On  one,  a  pole  perhaps  sixty 
feet  high,  was  a  bear,  with  marks  of  his  feet 
from  the  bottom  to  the  top.  They  venerate 
these,  and  to  cut  one  down  or  injure  it  is 
sufficient  cause  for  war.  Over  the  grave  of 
a  chief  was  a  house  of  logs,  and  on  the  top 
was  a  bear  hewed  out  of  a  log  ten  feet  long. 
These  Thlinket  Indians  have  various  inter 
pretations  of  these  heraldic  monuments 
One  will  interpret  one  way  and  another  an 
other  way  ;  anyway  they  say,  ':  to  make  up  a 
big  story  to  fool  the  white  man."  An  Indian 
gave  me  a  drawing  of  one  with  various  devi 
ces,  with  a  dragon's  head  on  the  top,  who 
was  trying  to  settle  a  dispute  between  two 


62       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


families  who  had  intermarried,  and  threat 
ened  to  destroy  both,  if  they  did  not  become 
reconciled.  There  are  perhaps  fifty  of  these 
poles  in  the  village,  many  of  them  showing 
a  good  deal  of  artistic  skill,  and  would  do 
credit  to  the  artist  as  a  wood  carver.  They 
looked  as  if  they  had  been  made  many  years 
ago. 

We  called  on  Judge  Swan,  an  agent  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  at  Port  Townsend, 
and  he  gave  us  much  valuable  information  in 
regard  to  these  Alaska  Indians,  their  habits, 
customs,  etc.  In  front  of  his  office  the  In 
dians  erected  a  long  pole,  and  placed  on  the 
top  a  swan,  an  emblem  of  peace,  which 
answers  also  for  a  sign.  They  did  it  as  a  re 
gard  for  his  services  in  settling  some  dispute 
between  two  tribes,  and  averting  a  war. 
Judge  Swan  read  to  us  his  report  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington,  giv 
ing  his  reasons  why  these  Indians  of  Alaska 
were  descended  from  Aztecs  of  Mexico,  and 
are  not  Mongolian,  as  some  claim,  on  ac 
count  of  some  representations  on  the  totem 
poles,  of  long  conical  hats  like  the  Chinese, 
and  say  they  came  here  by  Behrings  Straits 
from  China.  Some  of  the  Indian  girls  were 
quite  pretty.  They  are  shorter  than  the 


From   Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        63 


North  American  Indians,  with  round  faces, 
and  look  more  like  the  Laplanders.  The 
Indians  used  to  make  great  feasts,  and  on 
such  occasions  released  or  killed  six  or  seven 
of  their  slaves,  and  almost  impoverished 
themselves  by  their  gifts. 

Leaving  Fort  Wrangell  at  ten  in  the  morn 
ing,  we  have  had  a  red-letter  day.  The  day 
is  clear,  and  a  cold  wind  is  blowing  just 
enough  to  give  us  a  bracing  atmosphere. 
We  soon  sail  through  a  narrow  channel, 
called  Wrangell  Narrows,  and  see  a  long 
range  of  snow-covered  mountains,  some  of 
them,  with  deep,  clear  white  snow,  and  the 
waterfalls  coming  down  from  the  glaciers, 
and  the  deep,  clear  water,  with  the  little 
steamer  gliding  over  it,  gives  to  our  sur 
roundings  a  most  attractive  enjoyment.  We 
watch  with  interest  the  glaciers,  and  soon 
meet  great  green-colored  icebergs  floating 
down  from  them  ;  these  are  the  first  glaciers 
we  have  seen.  We  find  from  our  map  that 
the  largest  is  called  "  Patterson  Glacier," 
and  is  forty  miles  long,  and  from  three  to 
four  miles  wide  in  front. 

We  thought  that  we  never  enjoyed  a  sail 
on  Lake  Como  in  Italy  or  on  the  coast  of 
Norway  equal  to  this  from  Fort  Wrangell 


64       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska, 


to-day.  We  lingered  on  the  deck  until  into 
the  night.  In  the  morning  early  we  find 
ourselves  in  the  harbor  of  Juneau,  named 
after  an  old  miner  of  that  name,  to  whom  we 
were  introduced.  We  go  out  on  shore, 
and  come  to  the  Indian  encampment,  and 
look  in  upon  their  houses  and  tents,  while 
they  are  preparing  their  breakfasts  on  the 
open  smoky  fires.  Some  of  them  were  half 
clad.  One  invited  me  in  to  a  repast  of  picked- 
up  salmon  in  a  dish,  from  which  eight  or  ten 
were  dipping  it  with  wooden  spoons.  With 
the  dirt  and  filth  around  the  room,  the 
breakfast  did  not  seem  tempting  enough  to 
partake  of.  The  old  Indian  brought  out  his 
package  of  recommendations.  He  was  an 
Indian  chief,  and  over  his  door  was  a  sign, 
"  Chief  Klow  Kek."  His  papers  were  from 
United  States  officers,  and  spoke  of  him  as  an 
honest,  reliable  Indian,  and  a  good  friend 
of  the  white  man.  We  gave  him  a  cheer, 
and  he  replied  "good."  In  almost  every 
house  and  along  the  wharf  the  Indian  women 
bring  out  an  old  box,  in  which  are  their 
treasures  of  silver  bracelets,  which  they  ham 
mer  out  of  a  silver  dollar,  with  curious  de 
vices  carved  upon  them,  selling  them  from 
three  to  six  dollars  a  pair.  Their  wrists  are 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        65 


covered  with  them,  and  on  their  fingers  are 
silver  rings,  and  in  their  lips  are  ornaments. 
Many  of  the  women  look  hideous  enough  with 
their  faces  daubed  with  black  paint  ;  some  of 
them  had  bangs  plastered  all  over  their  fore 
heads.  The  women  do  all  the  business  in 
making  bargains,  and  are  very  sharp,  and 
some  of  the  girls,  who  had  not  painted  their 
faces,  looked  quite  pretty,  with  small  feet. 

One  of  the  ridiculous  practices  of  the 
Alaska  Indian  is  that  of  taking  a  salt  water 
bath  early  on  the  coldest  winter  morning. 
Not  only  do  the  male  adults  among  them 
indulge  in  this  practice,  but  the  children, 
even  those  of  tender  years,  are  compelled  to 
participate,  under  the  penalty  of  being 
thrown  into  the  ice-cold  water,  and  kept 
there  until  they  learn  to  take  their  medicine 
like  a  man.  They  affect  the  belief  that  the 
process  is  necessary  to  the  future  health  and 
strength  of  their  rising  generation,  on  the 
principle,  we  suppose,  that  those  whom  it 
does  not  kill  will  be  able  to  endure  almost 
any  hardship  thereafter — somewhat  on  the 
theory  of  the  "survival  of  the  fittest." 

One  of  the  coldest  days  of  the  winter,  thus 
far,  and  about  six  o'clock,  white  people  living 
near  the  ranch  were  awakened,  and  kept 


66       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

awake,  by  a  wailing  and  a  howling  which  at 
first  led  them  to  believe  that  a  thousand  or 
more  spirits  of  the  damned  had  broken  loose 
from  the  infernal  regions  and  found  refuge 
within  the  persons  of  as  many  native  shamans, 
and  through  whom  they  sought  to  inaugu 
rate  a  little  sheol  of  their  own.  But  it  was 
only  the  natives  slinging  their  children  into 
the  cold  waters  of  the  bay,  and  then  "  warm 
ing  them  up,"  when  they  came  out,  by  the  ap 
plication  of  the  necessary  amount  of  caloric 
through  the  medium  of  a  bunch  of  spruce 
boughs  well  laid  on.  That  there  was  "  wail 
ing  and  gnashing  of  teeth,"  and  a  screeching 
and  groaning  calculated  to  strike  terror  to 
the  soul  of  the  uninitiated  just  awakened 
from  his  slumbers,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
The  bodies  of  the  voluntary  as  well  as  unwill 
ing  bathers  may  be  a  little  less  aromatic  now, 
but  we  don't  look  for  any  perceptible  decrease 
in  the  mortality  list  in  consequence. 

Though  offering  premiums  as  an  incentive 
to  cleanliness  in  the  "  ranch,"  the  governor  has 
given  strict  orders  that  the  children  shall  not 
be  put  through  any  more  such  ablutionary 
exercises  until  the  gentle  spring  and  genial 
summer  time  comes  again. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        67 


V. 


"  ALASKA."       ITS    BOUNDARIES    AND     RESOURCES. 
ITS    EARLY    HISTORY,    ETC. 

THE  name  of  Alaska  comes  from  Al-ay- 
ek-saor"  Great  Country."  We  had  no 
correct  idea  how  great  a  country  Alaska  was 
until  we  began  to  read  about  it  with  a  view 
to  taking  a  tour  there.  We  had  thought  of  it 
as  a  vast  country  of  mountains  and  ice,  with 
out  much  value. 

One  of  the  chief  boundary  lines  between 
Alaska  and  the  British  Possessions  is  a  line 
drawn  due  North  from  the  top  of  Mount 
Saint  Elias  to  the  Polar  Sea.  The  advantage 
obtained  for  England  by  this  treaty  is  incal 
culable,  and  was  largely  foreseen  by  British 
Statesmen  at  the  time,  and  the  imbecility  of 
it  on  our  part  is  just  beginning  to  be  seen, 
when  we  have  to  run  through  their  country 
six  or  seven  hundred  miles  to  get  to  Alaska. 
One  reason,  no  doubt,  why  Mr.  Seward  bought 
Alaska  of  Russia,  was  because  he  felt  so  keenly 
our  disgrace.  Congressional  records  prove 


68       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

that  we  claim  to  go  to  the  Russian  Posses 
sions,  in  north  latitude  fifty-four  degrees  forty 
minutes,  and  it  was  shown  by  maps  in  the 
archives  of  Holland  that  our  claim  was  well 
founded.  Great  Britain,  to  our  great  cha 
grin,  has  possession  of  fine  harbors  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  has  a  great  railroad,  the 
Canadian  Pacific,  running  from  Montreal  to 
the  Pacific,  claiming  a  much  shorter  route  to 
China  and  Japan,  and  competing  with  our 
transcontinental  lines.  This  deed  alone  of 
yielding  this  valuable  country  to  England, 
without  cause,  was  enough  to  stigmatize 
Polk's  administration  forever,  and  wHl  ever 
remain  as  a  stigma  on  the  name  of  the  Secre- 
of  State,  James  Buchanan. 

Alaska  contains  five  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  square  miles,  and  is  nearly  fifteen 
times  larger  than  Ohio,  which  has  forty  thou 
sand  square  miles.  Alaska  is  as  large  as  all 
the  United  States  north  of  North  Carolina, 
Georgia  and  Alabama,  and  west  of  the  Missis 
sippi  river.  The  main  land  lies  between  fifty- 
four  degrees  forty  minutes  and  seventy-one 
degrees  north  latitude,  and  between  one  hun 
dred  and  thirty  degrees  and  one  hundred 
and  seventy  degrees  west  longitude  ;  and  the 
western  boundary,  according  to  Russian 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        69 


treaty,  is  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  de 
grees  west  of  Greenwich — very  near  to  Asia. 
Quoddy  Light,  on  the  east  coast  of  Maine,  is 
in  latitude  forty-four  degrees  forty-seven 
minutes,  longitude  sixty-six  degrees,  fifty- 
eight  minutes  west  ;  San  Francisco  is  in  lati 
tude  thirty-seven  degrees  forty-eight  min 
utes,  longitude  one  hundred  and  twenty-two 
degrees  twenty-six  minutes ;  the  ^Elutian 
Islands,  the  most  western  part  of  Alaska,  are 
in  fifty-three  degrees  north  latitude,  one  hun 
dred  and  eighty-seven  and  one-half  degrees 
west  longitude.  Alaska  is  therefore  just 
about  as  far  west  of  San  Francisco,  as  Maine 
is  east,  or  about  the  center  of  the  United 
States  east  and  west. 

The  extreme  length  of  Alaska,  north  and 
south,  is  eleven  hundred  miles,  and  its 
extreme  breadth  eight  hundred  miles  ;  a  dis 
tance  greater,  north  and  south,  than  from 
Lake  Michigan  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and 
almost  equal  in  extent,  east  and  west,  from 
the  same  lake  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The 
coast  line  of  this  country  extends  twenty-five 
thousand  miles,  being  two  and  one-half  more 
than  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coast-line  of  the 
whole  United  States. 

Peter  the   Great  sent  out  an  exploring  ex- 


70       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


pedition  under  the  command  of  Vitus  Beh- 
ring,  a  Danish  Captain,  who  began  his  over 
land  journey  in  1725,  and  not  until  1741  did 
he  discover  Alaska  in  latitude  fifty-five 
degrees  twenty-one  minutes.  Peter  the 
Great  died  before  the  discovery  was  made. 
The  great  Russian  Fur  Company  was  formed 
in  1 783  by  Siberian  merchants,  and  held  sway 
over  the  country  for  many  years.  Alexander 
Baranoff  for  many  years  ruled  the  country 
with  an  iron  hand,  at  the  head  of  this  great 
Company.  His  history  and  rough  experi 
ences  in  this  vast  solitude  are  full  of  romance 
and  are  extremely  interesting.  In  1799  he 
came  to  Sitka,  and  in  1802  the  Indians  massa 
cred  all  the  inhabitants.  Baranoff  was  ab 
sent,  and  escaped.  He  remained  thirty  years 
in  Alaska,  and  died  on  his  way  to  Siberia  in 
1818,  having  been  superseded  by  the  Com 
pany  at  the  age  of  seventy-two.  He  seems 
to  have  been  the  great  leader  while  Russia 
held  Alaska. 

Alaska  was  purchased,  with  certain  im 
provements,  March  30,  1867.  After  a  good 
deal  of  negotiation  and  several  offers  by  our 
Government  to  Russia  through  Secretary 
Seward,  Alaska  was  delivered  to  the  United 
States  by  the  payment  of  seven  million  two 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        71 

hundred  thousand  dollars,  or  less  than  two 
cents  per  acre.  Secretary  Seward,  upon 
being  asked  once  what  he  considered  the 
greatest  act  of  his  life,  replied,  "  The  pur 
chase  of  Alaska."  He  was  derided  and 
laughed  at,  at  the  time,  and  the  purchase 
was  called  "  Seward's  folly,"  and  many  con 
sidered  that  for  the  seven  million  two  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars  we  had  got  a  vast 
country  containing  nothing  but  mountains 
and  ice.  But  the  climate  of  Sitka  in  winter 
is  milder  than  that  of  New  England,  and  the 
summer  delightfully  cool  and  bracing.  The 
effect  of  the  Japanese  currents  on  the  coast 
causes  the  mild  temperature. 

The  Alaska  Commercial  Company  has  paid 
nearly  as  much  in  royalty  to  the  United 
States,  and  in  rental  of  the  Islands  of  Saint 
George  and  Saint  Paul,  for  the  privilege  of 
catching  seals,  as  was  paid  for  the  whole  of 
Alaska,  and  Secretary  Seward  is  vindicated. 

The  Czar  of  all  the  Russias,  no  doubt, 
hoped  the  purchase  would  create  a  war  be 
tween  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  and 
he  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  spite  Eng 
land,  as  he  hated  her  with  intense  hatred. 

Congress  seems  to  have  neglected  this 
country,  as  not  worthy  of  attention,  for  sev- 


72        From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

enteen  years.  Soon  after  the  purchase, 
adventurers  of  all  kinds  poured  into  the 
country.  Mr.  Bancroft  says,  "  Speculators, 
politicians,  office-holders,  tradesmen,  gam 
blers,  and  adventurous  women  flocked  to 
Alaska.  Stores,  saloons,  and  restaurants 
were  speedily  opened.  Squatter  claims  were 
put  on  record.  Vacant  lots  were  stacked  out 
and  frame  shanties  were  erected.  The  prices 
of  real  estate  promised  very  speedily  to  make 
a  total,  at  Sitka  alone,  equal  to  the  purchase 
price  of  the  whole  territory." 

Some  one  relates  that  a  log  house,  with 
lot,  was  held  at  ten  thousand  dollars.  At  the 
first  charter  election  there  were  as  many  can 
didates  as  voters.  The  Russians  were 
offered  by  the  Hudson  Fur  Company  their 
passage  paid  to  Russia,  and  all  the  better 
class  availed  themselves  of  the  offer,  and  five 
years  later  there  was  less  population  than 
when  Russia  had  possession. 

The  neglect  of  Congress,  to  provide  any 
form  of  civil  government  or  protection  for 
the  inhabitants,  checked  all  progress  and  en 
terprise,  and  a  great  collapse  came,  and  the 
country  was  nearly  deserted.  Since  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  has  been  built, 
and  the  development  of  the  Puget  Sound 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        73 


country,  fisheries  have  been  growing,  and 
mining  interests  have  received  attention,  and 
it  seems  as  if  a  new  era  was  about  to  dawn 
upon  Alaska,  and  the  steamers  in  the  sum 
mer  are  crowded  with  tourists  and  prospec 
tors — the  former  to  see  the  grandest  scenery 
in  the  world. 

Not  until  May,  1884,  did  Alaska  have  a 
territorial  government,  and  as  the  provisions 
could  not  take  immediate  effect,  it  added 
nothing  to  the  development  of  the  mining 
interest  that  year.  The  governor  and  civil 
officers  were  not  appointed  until  July,  1884, 
and  reached  the  country  in  September,  at  the 
close  of  the  mining  season.  The  act  of  Con- 
gress  provides  for  a  governor  and  four  com 
missioners,  a  district  judge,  a  marshall  and 
clerk.  The  bill  creates  the  district  of  Alaska 
a  land  district,  and  among  other  things,  pro 
vides  that  "  the  laws  of  the  United  States  re 
lating  to  mining  claims  and  the  right  inci 
dent  thereto,  shall,  from  and  after  the  pas 
sage  of  this  act,  be  in  full  force  and  effect  in 
said  district,"  etc.  "  Provided,  that  the 
Indians  or  other  persons  in  said  district  shall 
not  be  disturbed  in  the  possession  of  any 
lands  actually  in  their  use  or  occupation  ; 
also,  that  parties  who  have  located  mines  or 


74        From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


mineral  privileges  therein,  under  the  United 
States,  applicable  to  the  public  domain,  shall 
not  be  disturbed  therein,  but  shall  be  allowed 
to  perfect  their  title  to  such  claims  by  pay 
ment  as  aforesaid  ;  and  provided,  also,  that 
the  land,  not  exceeding  six  hundred  and  forty 
acres,  at  any  station  now  occupied  as  mis 
sionary  stations  among  the  Indian  tribes,  in 
said  section,  with  the  improvements  thereon, 
erected  by  and  for  such  societies,  shall  be 
continued  in  the  occupancy  of  the  several  re 
ligious  societies  to  which  said  missionary  so 
cieties  belong,  until  action  by  Congress.  But 
nothing  contained  in  this  act  shall  be  con 
strued  to  put  in  force,  in  said  district,  the 
general  laws  of  the  United  States."  Mining 
matters  were  at  a  stand-still,  as  it  took  time 
for  the  officers  to  settle  the  contests  and-  liti 
gation  in  which  every  piece  of  property  was 
involved,  and  all  definite  action  was  post 
poned  until  last  year. 

On  account  of  this  unsettled  condition  of 
the  country,  mining  and  other  interests  have 
not  advanced.  Governor  Kinkead  reports  : 
"  The  mining  interest,  in  my  opinion,  bids  fair 
to  take  front  rank  in  value  of  product.  I 
confidently  expect  that  within  the  next  de 
cade  the  production  of  precious  metals  in  the 


Prom   Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        75 


district  will  be  an  important   factor  in  the 
finances  of  the  general  government." 

High  and  precipitous  mountains,  densely 
covered  with  timber  and  chapparel,  fallen  and 
decaying  trees,  the  earth  covered  with  moss 
and  vegetation  to  the  depth  of  one  or  two 
feet,  seem  almost  to  forbid  the  progress  of  the 
prospector. 

We  visited  Douglas  Island,  nearly  opposite 
Juneau,  where  we  saw  in  operation  one  of  the 
largest  stamp-mills  in  the  world.     A  company 
from    San    Francisco  having  located  here    a 
plant  costing  four  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  manager  kindly  showed  us  through  the 
works  and  the  mines,  a  short  distance,  where 
one  hundred  or  more  Chinese  were  busy   at 
work  blasting  and  picking  out  the  gold  quartz 
from  the  great  mountain  of  quartz  ;  it  is  then 
run  into  the  top  of   the  mill  which  is  on  a 
level  with  the  tunnel.     The  mill  is  designed 
for  the  reduction   of  gold   ore   carrying  sul- 
phurets  and  free  gold,  and  has  one  hundred 
and  twenty  stamps,  of  nine  hundred  pounds 
each,  with  a  crushing  capacity  of  three  hun 
dred  and  sixty  tons  per  day.     The  ore  when 
it  comes  to  the  mill  goes  through  the  grizzlies 
and    rock-breakers   into    the    ore   bins,  from 
which  it  is  drawn  out  directly  into  the  feeders, 


76       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


which  feed  it  into  the  batteries,  where  it  is 
crushed  wet  and  amalgamated.     Then   from 
the  copper  plates  it  is  taken  to  and  passed 
over  the  free  concentrators,  which  save  the 
sulphurets  and  the  tailings,  and  sluiced  off. 
From  the  concentrator  room   the  sulphurets 
are    taken    to  the  chlorination  works,  where 
they  are  treated  for  the  gold  which  they  con 
tain,  by  the  chlorine  gas,  and  the  gold  comes 
out  in  fifteen  thousand  and  eighteen  thousand 
dollar  bricks,  which  are  shipped  monthly  by 
steamer  to  the  mint  in  San  Francisco.  About 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  per  month  is  the 
product.     This  company  expects  to  illuminate 
their  mill  with  powerful  electric  lights,  which 
will  diffuse  sufficient  light  to  enable  work  to 
be  carried  on   with  the  same  facility  in   the 
night    as    in     the  day  time.     This    company 
bought    the    claim    of    a  prospector  for   one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

Douglas  Island  is  twenty  miles  in  circum 
ference,  and  is  called  a  gold  island.  Proper 
ties  already  claimed  and  partly  developed 
there  aggregate  in  value  twice  as  much  as 
the  amount  Mr.  Seward  paid  for  the  whole  of 
Alaska  ;  and  Douglas  Island  is  but  one  of 
the  eleven  hundred  islands  of  the  archipelago 
of  which  there  are  promises  of  mineral 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        77 


wealth.  It  was  eighty-seven  years  after 
Vancouver's  surveys  before  the  prospectors 
found  gold  on  its  shores  ;  but  the  island 
retained  the  old  nomenclature,  and  is  still 
Douglas  Island,  as  Vancouver  named  it,  in 
honor  of  his  friend,  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury. 
While  we  were  at  Juneau,  opposite  Doug 
las  Island,  on  our  return,  a  most  dastardly 
outrage  was  perpetrated  upon  the  poor 
laboring  Chinese,  who,  we  had  noticed,  were 
so  industriously  at  work  at  the  mines  on 
Douglas  Island.  A  band  of  lawless,  lazy 
men — chiefly  saloon-keepers  and  their  hang 
ers-on — held  public  meetings,  and  sent  a 
committee  over,  demanding  of  the  Chinese 
that  they  leave  the  island  at  once.  They 
consulted  Mr.  Treadwell  (who  had  done  more 
to  develop  the  mining  interests  of  Alaska, 
and  call  attention  of  the  country  to  the  great 
richness  of  Alaska  in  gold,  by  establishing 
his  great  stamp  works,  and  proving  to  the 
world  that  not  one-half  has  been  predicted 
of  the  value  of  these  mines).  The  Chinese 
said  to  him  :  "  You  say  go,  we  go.  You  say 
fight,  we  fight,  you  bet."  Mr.  Treadwell  ad 
vised  them  to  submit,  as  there  were  less  than 
one  hundred  of  them,  with  only  a  few  pis 
tols,  while  there  were  twice  the  number  in 


78        From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


the  mob,  well  armed.  They  were  taken  to 
Juneau  by  the  mob,  and  forced  on  two  sloops, 
forty  on  one  and  forty-seven  on  the  other. 
They  were  poorly  clothed,  and  there  was  no 
room  on  the  sloops  for  them  to  lie  down. 
They  were  sent  adrift  down  to  Fort  Wrangell. 
We  saw  them  a  few  miles  from  Juneau  ;  as 
there  was  a  dead  calm  the  vessels  did  not 
make  much  headway.  There  was  a  cold 
rain-storm,  and  the  poor  Chinese  were  suffer 
ing  greatly.  We  learned  that  they  arrived  at 
Fort  Wrangell,  and  would  have  suffered  terri 
bly,  had  not  Mr.  Treadwell  sent  his  tug  with 
plenty  to  relieve  them,  and  as  the  little  set 
tlement  was  without  any  supply  of  pro 
visions,  it  was  thought  some  of  them  would 
starve.  Fortunately,  in  a  few  days,  the 
steamer  Archon,  Captain  Carrol,  came  along 
and  towed  them  back  to  Douglas  Island. 
Governor  Swinford,  on  hearing  of  their  con 
dition,  immediately  sent  the  United  States 
steamer  Pinta,  Captain  Nichols,  to  Wrangell. 
He  brought  them  back,  and  took  steps  to  pun 
ish  the  parties  who  violated  the  law;  but  owing 
to  the  want  of  funds,  the  prosecution  was 
abandoned.  One,  and  principal,  reason  the 
mob  give  for  their  outrageous  deed,  is  that 
they  do  not  oatronize  the  saloons.  Their  op- 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        79 

position   extends  also   to  the  Indians,  whom 
they  will  not  allow  to  work. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Sitka  the  most  valuable 
gold  claims  yet  discovered  are  being  devel 
oped  by  a  company  incorporated  under  the 
laws  of  Wisconsin.  Captain  Cowles,  formerly 
of  Columbus,  O.,  is  Secretary  and  Treasurer 
of  the  Lake  Mountain  Gold  and  Silver 
Mining  Company.  He  sent  a  sample  of  the 
quartz  to  an  assayist  in  Boston,  who  reported 
that  it  contained  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  forty  dollars  to  the  ton,  and  is  likely  to 
prove  a  bonanza  to  the  company.  Pros 
pectors  are  numerous,  and  great  discoveries 
of  gold  are  reported  in  the  Yukon  country. 
We  left  some  parties  at  Chilcoot,  who  were 
going  over  the  Chilcoot  Pass,  where  the  In 
dians  have  a  trail,  some  thirty-five  miles  in 
length,  to  a  chain  of  lakes  about  three  hun 
dred  miles  long,  which  connect  with  the  head 
waters  of  the  Yukon  River.  This  river  is 
not  only  one  of  the  largest  on  the  continent, 
but  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world,  and  from 
this  point,  from  which  the  miners  strike  it,  to 
its  mouth,  is  a  distance  of  two  thousand 
miles.  Valuable  mineral  discoveries  have 
been  made  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and 
miners  have  staked  large  claims.  One  is  re- 


8o        From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


ported  on  a  vein  of  gold-bearing  quartz  six 
hundred  feet  wide.  The  prospectors  are  con 
vinced  that  gold  exits  all  through  the  Yukon 
country,  but  its  remoteness  from  all  base  of 
supplies,  and  the  long,  severe  winters  of  the 
interior,  left  a  mining  season  of  four  months 
too  short  to  be  profitable. 

Professor  Muir,  of  California,  who  is  one  of 
the  most  scientific  men  of  the  West,  has 
visited  Alaska,  and  sees  no  reason  why  this 
may  not  become  one  of  the  richest  mining 
countries  in  the  world.  He  believes  that  the 
great  mineral  vein,  extending  up  the  coast  of 
Mexico  to  British  Columbia,  continues 
through  Alaska  to  Siberia.  With  British 
Columbia  producing  one  million  to  two  mil 
lion  dollars  each  year,  and  Siberia  yielding 
twenty-two  million  dollars,  why  should  not 
Alaska,  with  the  same  geological  formations, 
be  equally  productive  in  gold  and  silver? 
Copper,  cinnabar,  iron,  coal  and  marble  are 
found  in  great  quantities. 

When  our  lumber  supplies  fail  us,  as  they 
are  fast  growing  less  in  Michigan  and  Wis 
consin,  great  things  may  be  expected  in 
Alaska  in  the  future.  From  the  time  that  we 
set  sight  on  Alaska  until  we  reached  Chilcoot, 
the  most  northerly  place  our  steamer  reaches, 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        81 

one  is  amazed  at  the  immense  forests  of  fir 
trees  which  cover  the  mountains,  islands  and 
valleys,  coming  down  to  the  water's  edge, 
and  reflected  so  beautifully  in  the  deep,  clear 
water.  There  are  five  species  of  valuable 
woods.  Commercially  speaking,  they  range 
as  follows  :  yellow  cedar,  spruce,  hemlock, 
elder  and  a  species  of  fir  or  black  pine.  The 
yellow  cedar,  susceptible  of  taking  a  fine 
polish,  is  considered  valuable  for  boat  build 
ing  and  finishing  purposes.  It  sells  for 
eighty  dollars  per  thousand  in  San  Francisco. 
It  possesses  a  delightful  odor,  which,  like 
camphor  wood,  it  retains  for  a  longtime,  and 
manufactured  into  boxes  and  chests,  is  very 
valuable  for  packing  furs  and  other  goods,  as 
it  is  said  to  be  moth  preventive.  We  brought 
away  some  photographs  of  a  yellow  cedar 
log,  fifty  feet  long  and  seventy-four  inches  in 
diameter,  and,  it  is  said,  they  are  frequently 
found  one  hundred  feet  high,  with  a  diame 
ter  of  four  or  five  feet.  Some  of  the  enter 
prising  people  of  San  Francisco  built  saw 
mills  in  Alaska  and  shipped  lumber  to  Cali 
fornia,  but  the  vessel  was  seized  by  the 
United  States  authorities,  and  the  lumber 
confiscated.  British  Columbia  offers  great 
inducements  to  settlers  to  develop  the  coun- 


82       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


try  and  show  to  the  world  its  value,  even  at 
a  loss  of  a  few  trees  that  are  of  no  value,  ex 
cept  they  are  sawed  into  lumber  and  shipped 
where  lumber  is  in  demand,  but,  in  Alaska 
no  one  is  allowed  to  saw  the  trees  except  to 
use  on  the  spot,  and  there  are  no  laws  giving 
any  one  a  title  to  the  land,  and  no  one  can 
own  a  home  here.  The  Russians  carried  on 
ship  building  extensively  in  Alaska,  and  the 
time  may  not  be  far  distant  when  ship  build 
ing  will  rank  among  the  foremost  industries 
of  Alaska. 

At  Fort  Wrangell,  Juneau  and  Sitka  we  saw 
at  the  stores  valuable  furs,  especially  bear  and 
seal.  The  fur  trade  is  exceedingly  valuable, 
as  the  beaver,  fox,  marten,  ermine,  otter  and 
wolf  are  numerous.  The  cinnamon  and 
black  bear  in  great  numbers  are  found  in 
south-eastern  Alaska,  while  further  north, 
near  the  great  Yukon  river,  the  rein-deer  roam 
undisturbed  by  man.  The  islands  are  full  of 
deer.  Captain  Hunter,  of  our  steamer  Idaho, 
captured  four  deer  in  one  of  the  narrow 
channels  of  the  Alaska  waters,  out  of  quite  a 
herd  which  were  swimming  across,  which  he 
sent  to  friends  in  San  Francisco.  I  kept  con 
tinually  on  the  lookout  to  capture  some  to 
put  into  our  Franklin  Park,  at  Columbus, 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        83 


Ohio.  The  Alaska  Commercial  Company 
has  a  monopoly  of  the  fur  seal  business,  for 
which  they  pay  to  the  United  States  an  an 
nual  rental  of  fifty-five  thousand  dollars,  and 
a  royalty  of  two  dollars  and  sixty-two  and 
one-half  cents  for  each  seal  killed,  and  are 
limited  to  the  killing  of  one  hundred  thou 
sand  seals  annually. 

The  principal  points  where  the  fur  seals  are 
caught  are  the  islands  of  Saint  George  and 
Saint  Paul,  belonging  to  the  Pribyloff  group, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  miles  west  of 
Sitka.  They  have  already  paid  nearly  as  much 
to  our  Government  as  Secretary  Seward 
paid  for  the  whole  of  Alaska.  Th'is  company 
gathered  last  year  nine-tenths  of  the  world's 
supply  of  seal  skins,  and  the  company  has 
made  an  immense  fortune.  These  northern 
latitudes  seem  to  swarm  with  fish  and  game. 
The  salmon  fisheries  are  the  most  numerous, 
and  as  they  seem  to  be  failing  and  dimin 
ishing  on  the  Columbia  River  from  year  to 
year,  Alaska  will  probably  become  the  main 
source  of  the  world's  supply.  Some  of  the 
finest  salmon  in  the  world  are  found  in 
Alaskan  waters,  and  the  largest  ever  caught, 
weighing  over  forty  pounds,  was  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Yukon  River.  It  is  the  chief 


84       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


food  of  the  Indians,  and  they  had  come  down 
from  the  interior  at  this  season  of  the  year 
to  catch  their  winter  supply.  They  have 
their  own  fishing  waters,  which  have  de 
scended  to  them  from  their  ancestors,  and 
they  regard  the  rights  of  each  other  to  the 
different  waters  for  their  salmon  fisheries 
with  jealous  care. 

In  their  huts  you  can  see  them  seated  on 
the  ground  around  the  fire,  cooking  the 
salmon,  after  dressing  them,  on  the  coals  and 
throwing  the  entrails  out  in  the  sand  in  front 
of  their  huts  to  decay,  emitting  a  terrible 
stench.  It  is  said  they  take  ten  million  to 
twelve  million  a  year,  or  three  times  as  many 
as  are  required  for  the  canneries  of  the  Paci 
fic  Coast. 

At  Naha  Bay,  as  our  steamer  sailed  in,  the 
salmon  were  so  thick  that  the  steamer  seemed 
to  plow  through  them  and  turn  up  their 
silvery  sides,  giving  us  an  idea  of  their 
beauty  and  great  numbers.  At  Killisnoo 
there  is  a  large  company,  called  the  North 
west  Trading  Company,  who  have  a  large 
establishment  for  rendering  fish  oil,  which  is 
used,  no  doubt,  for  cod  oil,  and  also  for 
making  "  Lubin's  Extracts."  The  company 
have  just  shipped  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        85 


of  fish  oil  to  Liverpool.  This  is  the  first 
shipment  ever  made  direct  to  England  from 
Alaska.  They  also  shipped  a  car  load  to 
London  and  another  to  Dundee.  It  is  there 
purified  of  its  fishy  odor,  and  then  shipped 
back  to  this  country  as  salad  oil. 

Thus  Alaska  is  entering  into  competition 
with  the  Mediterranean  in  supplying  the 
civilized  world  with  one  of  its  own  valuable 
condiments,  and  when  we  can  learn  to  purify 
it  of  its  "  fishy  odor,"  the  olive  groves  of 
Greece  and  Algiers  will  have  to  yield  to  the 
waters  of  Alaska.  One  large  firm  from  San 
Francisco  had  its  superintendent  and  a  party 
of  Chinese  on  board  our  steamer,  who  were 
landed  at  Chilkat  to  start  a  canning  estab 
lishment,  on  account  of  the  failure  of  the 
salmon  fisheries  on  the  Columbia  River. 

There  are  not  probably  over  one  thousand 
white  inhabitants  in  Alaska,  and  from  forty 
to  sixty  thousand  Indians,  and  only  a  few 
towns  on  the  water  courses  ;  none  in  the  in 
terior.  Sitka  is  the  capital.  During  the 
Russian  occupation,  the  town  of  Sitka,  al 
though  the  centre  of  government  and  busi 
ness,  was  far  from  being  an  inviting  place. 
It  is  probable  that  the  Russians  cared  little 
to  make  it  so.  They  lived  on  terms  of  singu- 


86       From   Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


lar  familiarity,  and  even  intimacy,  with  the 
Indians.  Native  servants  commonly  called 
their  masters  by  their  first  name.  Baranoff 
had  by  a  native  woman  a  daughter,  of 
whom  he  was  very  proud.  In  1805  a  Rus 
sian  visitor  found  Baranoff  living  in  what 
he  could  describe  as  little  better  than 
a  hut.  His  bed  during  heavy  rains  was  often 
afloat,  and  a  leak  in  his  roof  was  looked  upon 
as  too  small  a  matter  to  receive  attention  ; 
and  yet  Baranoff  was  a  man  of  education  and 
real  attainment,  as  well  as  a  very  able  admin 
istrator.  Savage  ways  of  life,  and  the  savage 
want  of  a  sense  of  refinement  and  cleanli 
ness,  had  obviously  been  far  too  readily 
adopted.  It  was  a  majority  had  conquered — 
at  least  in  the  matters  of  social  and  domestic 
decency. 

As  late  as  1841,  a  traveler  on  his  way 
around  the  world,  declared  Sitka  to  be  the 
dirtiest  and  most  wretched  place  that  he  had 
ever  seen.  Four  years  earlier  another  trav 
eler  gave  an  opposite  verdict.  Possibly  these 
two  visitors  were  in  Sitka  at  opposite  seasons 
of  the  year.  Sitka  in  January  and  Sitka  in 
July  are  very  different  places.  One  gentle 
man  who  spent  a  year  there  told  me  that  it 
rained  three  hundred  days  in  the  year. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        87 


Rain  and  fog  without  end  might  make 
even  an  earthly  paradise,  as  a  place  of  pro 
longed  residence,  gloomy  indeed.  But  there 
is  no  doubt  that  Sitka  in  those  days  was  a 
most  interesting  and  curious  place.  It  may 
be  that  the  town  has  lost  somewhat  of  its  ac 
tivity  and  acquired  picturesqueness  as  well  as 
dirt,  since  the  Russian  flag  was  superseded  by 
the  stars  and  stripes  nearly  twenty  years  ago. 

We  were  all  delighted  one  lovely  August 
morning  as  we  came  in  view  of  Sitka,  which 
is  beautifully  situated  on  a  level  plateau,  at 
the  foot  of  high  snow-covered  mountains, 
and  on  the  bay  of  the  same  name,  with  about 
fifty  islands  in  view,  which  are  covered  with 
thick  verdure  of  fir  trees  of  different  sizes, 
and  is  a  more  beautiful  bay  than  the  Bay  of 
Naples,  which  it  resembles.  There  is  an 
extinct  volcano  in  view — Mount  Edgecomb 
— which  is  three  thousand  five  hundred  feet 
high.  Rising  by  a  graceful  elevation  on  one 
side  from  its  long  cape  stretching  far  out  in 
to  the  western  waves,  displaying  at  its  top 
the  perfect  rim  of  its  crater  leaning  gently 
over  towards  the  town,  and  its  other  side 
running  abruptly  into  a  bridge  of  peaks  that 
drop  down  lower  and  lower,  until  they  are 
lost  in  the  interminable  mass  of  mountains 


88       From    Yellowstone  Park  to   Alaska. 

to  the  north,  it  stands  a  most  notable  land 
mark  and  beautiful  back-ground  to  the  island- 
gemmed  Bay  of  Sitka. 

Professor  Libbey,  of  Lieutenant  Schwatka's 
command,  is  the  first  person  to  ascend  it, 
and  found  it  more  of  a  volcano  than  had 
been  supposed.  Sitka  seemed  like  a  gala 
day,  with  its  inhabitants  all  out  of  doors, 
coming  down  to  the  steamer  to  get  their 
mail,  which  comes  only  once  a  month.  All 
business  is  stopped  ;  even  the  schools  are  dis 
missed.  Many  of  the  ladies  were  stylishly 
dressed  and  quite  attractive  in  their  appear 
ance.  A  cannon  on  the  steamer  gave  the 
note  of  warning  that  the  steamer  was 
approaching.  Not  only  the  two  or  three  hun 
dred  white  people  came  out,  but  the  same 
number  of  Indians  came  out  from  their  cabins 
in  the  Indian  village,  or  rancherie,  as  they  call 
it  ;  and  the  basket-makers  brought  their  bas 
kets,  and  every  Indian  woman  wore  silver 
bracelets  ;  one  on  each  arm.  These  they 
make  from  silver  dollars,  and  sell  to  visitors, 
as  also  various  old  horn  spoons  and  medi 
cine  wands,  moccasins,  etc.  They  sprawl  out 
on  the  floor,  and  with  their  heads  resting  on 
their  hands  they  gaze  at  the  people  with  stu 
pid  indifference. 


Prom    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        89 


The  most  conspicuous  buildings  on  the 
highest  part  of  the  place,  fronting  the  harbor, 
are  the  two  large  establishments  of  the  Pres 
byterian  Missions,  which  we  mistook  for  the 
Government  Buildings.  We  were  shown 
through  the  old  castle,  which  is  high  up  on  a 
rock,  called  Kateland's  Rock,  in  memory  of  a 
chief  who  once  lived  there  ;  we  reached  the 
top  by  a  stairway,  and  from  there  had  a 
splendid  view  of  the  bay  and  mountains 
around.  The  old  castle  was  built  of  logs,  and 
covered  with  boards,  and  riveted  to  the  rock, 
to  prevent  its  being  shaken  by  an  earthquake. 
The  castle  is  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  long 
by  seventy  feet  wide  ;  if  it  could  talk,  it  could, 
no  doubt,  tell  a  wonderful  history  of  the  old 
Russian  Governors  who  inhabited  it  and  main 
tained  the  style  of  the  Russian  nobility. 

History  gives  us  vivid  pictures  of  the  social 
life  of  Sitka,  while  the  Russians  had  posses 
sion  ;  all  the  old  furniture  and  ancient  relics 
were  carried  off  after  the  troops  left,  and  we 
could  see  nothing  reminding  us  of  its  an 
tiquity  but  the  old  porcelain  stoves  in  the  cor 
ners  of  the  large  rooms.  Attorney-General  Ball 
and  wife  occupy  the  first  floor.  Mrs.  Ball  in 
formed  us  that  when  she  talked  of  occupying 
the  castle,  she  was  informed  that  it  was  in- 


90       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

habited  by  a  ghost,  which  had  been  often 
seen,  and  no  one  dared  to  live  there.  "The 
story  of  the  ghost,  whose  sad  story  is  modeled 
on  that  of  the  'Bride  of  Lammermoor.'  By 
tradition  the  lady  in  black  was  a  daughter  of 
one  of  the  old  governors.  On  her  wedding 
night  she  disappeared  from  the  ball-room  in 
the  midst  of  the  festivities,  and  after  long 
search  was  found  dead  in  one  of  the  small 
drawing-rooms.  Being  forced  to  marry 
against  her  will,  one  belief  was  that  she  vol 
untarily  took  poison,  while  another  version 
ascribes  the  deed  to  an  unhappy  lover  ;  while 
altogether,  the  tale  of  this  Lucia  of  the  north 
west  isles  gives  just  the  touch  of  sentimental 
interest  to  this  castle  of  the  Russian  Gov 
ernors."  Mrs.  Ball  informs  us  that  she 
watched  all  the  first  night  she  occupied  the 
castle  and  no  ghost  appeared,  and  she  has 
no  fears  now. 

Lieutenant  McLean,  of  the  Signal  Service, 
occupies  the  upper  rooms  for  his  office,  and 
has  just  brought  his  bride  from  Washington 
to  occupy  other  rooms.  The  houses  on  the 
street  are  made  of  logs,  and  all  over  the  little 
town  the  houses  had  been  white-washed,  and 
instead  of  the  dirty-looking  town  we  had  been 
told  Sitka  was,  we  found  it  clean  and  neat. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        91 


White  and  Indian  boys  were  playing  base  ball 
on  the  common  or  parade  ground,  and  in 
every  door  we  could  see  the  people  eagerly 
reading  their  letters,  and  it  was  interesting  to 
watch  the  expression  of  their  faces,  which 
showed  joy  or  sorrow  according  to  the  news 
which  the  letters  contained. 

At  the  end  of  the  street  was  the  old  Russian 
Greek  Church  of  Saint  Michael,  with  its  eme 
rald-green  dome,  its  bulging  spire,  and  chime 
of  six  silver  bells,  which  ring  out  their  silvery 
tones  echoing  through  the  village.  The  panel 
picture  of  Saint  Michael  over  the  door-way 
has  lost  its  lustre.  The  church  is  built  in  the 
form  of  a  Greek  cross.  There  are  a  number 
of  paintings  in  it  ;  one  of  the  "  Last  Supper," 
the  crowns  and  vestments  covered  with  silver. 
The  church,  like  all  Creek  churches,  contains 
large  candle-sticks,  candelabra,  etc.,  of  silver. 
It  contains  the  Holy  of  Holies,  into  which  no 
woman  is  admitted.  We  did  not  see  any  Rus 
sians  in  Sitka,  only  the  old  priest,  who  in 
forms  us  that  he  has  an  audience  of  about 
thirty-five  Indians,  and  more  are  soon  to  unite. 
This,  I  believe,  is  the  only  Greek  church  in 
the  United  States,  except  on  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  and  it  shows  by  its  old  faded  look 
that  the  Greek  religion  does  not  flourish  in  this 


92       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


country,  and  before  many  years  this  church, 
like  the  one  in  New  York,  will  be  abandoned. 
The  government  of  Russia  expends  each  year 
fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  support  of  their 
missions  in  Alaska,  but  they  are  fast  dying 
out. 

It  is  interesting  to  visit  the  Indian  village 
or  rancherie.  In  the  winter  a  large  number  of 
Indians  are  here,  but  many  of  them  are  now 
away  catching  salmon  for  their  winter  supply. 
Many  of  the  houses  were  neat  and  clean,  and 
had  beds  covered  with  white,  and  a  stove  in 
the  room  instead  of  a  fire  in  the  centre  of  the 
room  on  the  ground,  with  the  smoke  going 
out  of  a  hole  in  the  roof.  We  learned  that 
those  who  are  educated  at  the  Mission  soon 
want  to  have  things  like  the  whites  ;  and  those 
who  were  in  such  nice  order  had  been  educated 
at  the  Mission.  In  almost  every  house  we 
entered  they  would  bring  out,  hidden  away 
in  a  pile  of  rags,  a  lot  of  skins,  furs  and  vari 
ous  Indian  relics  to  sell  us. 

We  enjoyed  a  delightful  walk  to  Indian 
river  along  the  bay,  for  one  or  two  miles,  re 
turning  by  paths  through  the  dense  forest  of 
evergreens.  Every  little  while  leading  us 
along  by  the  shore  of  the  river,  we  found 
plenty  of  yellow  and  black  raspberries.  The 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        93 

grounds  are  arranged  with  paths  and  rustic 
bridges  across  the  river,  and  we  were  all  de 
lighted  with  the  little  show  of  civilization, 
after  riding  over  one  thousand  miles  through 
a  wilderness. 

Secretary  Seward  visited  Alaska  in  1869, 
and  was  greatly  pleased  with  his  purchase. 
He  was  received  with  great  honors  in  Sitka, 
and  carried  away  a  great  variety  of  Indian 
curios  and  souvenirs.  By  the  custom  of  the 
Indians,  the  fur  robes  laid  for  him  to  sit  on  in 
the  chief's  cabin,  were  his.  He,  of  course,  had 
to  give  presents  to  the  chiefs  in  return,  which 
made  his  visit  to  Alaska  a  memorable  one. 

A  quantity  of  Alaska  cedar  was  taken  east, 
which  was  used  for  the  inside  finish  of  the 
Seward  mansion  at  Auburn. 

A  year  later  Lady  Franklin  visited  Sitka, 
when  she  was  eighty  years  old,  and  the  room 
was  shown  us  in  the  old  castle  which  she  had 
occupied,  as  also  had  Mr.  Seward,  when  there. 
Lady  Franklin  hoped  to  find  some  trace  of 
her  husband  who  was  lost  in  the  Arctic  explo 
ration.  It  was  reported  to  her  that  he  had 
been  heard  from,  and  this  remarkable  woman, 
at  her  great  age,  sailed  from  England  and 
came  here  to  try  to  trace  the  rumors.  It  was 
a  long  journey,  in  vain,  and  she  died  five 


94       From   Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


years  afterwards  ;  this  being  her  second  trip 
to  the  Pacific  coast  in  search  of  her  husband. 

Alaska  seems  to  have  been  considered  of  no 
value  by  our  government,  and  since  Mr.  Sew- 
ard's  death  has  been  almost  abandoned,  until 
within  a  year  or  two.  The  military  sailed 
away  after  ten  year's  occupation,  and  no  civil 
government  was  established,  and  the  in 
habitants  were  in  a  terrible  condition.  The 
Indians  committed  various  depredations  with 
immunity  from  punishment.  Even  white 
men  were  murdered,  and  the  murderers  had 
to  be  sent  to  Oregon  for  trial.  There  were 
only  about  three  hundred  white  people  to 
three  times  as  many  Indians.  The  white  peo 
ple  made  application  for  protection  to  the 
British  Admiral  at  Victoria,  who,  without 
waiting  for  red  tape  orders,  reached  there  in 
March,  1879,  to  the  great  relief  of  the  in 
habitants. 

Our  Government  finally  sent  a  little  revenue 
cutter — Oliver  Wolcott — which  was  too  small 
to  be  of  any  service,  and  the  Indians  defied 
and  laughed  at  the  menace,  so  the  British 
Captain  remained  until  the  United  States 
steamer  Alaska  came  in  April. 

The  only  protection  the  people  have  had 
was  from  the  navy,  and  the  commanders  of 


From   Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        95 


the  Jamestown,  which  succeeded  the  Alaska, 
sailed  through  all  parts  of  the  Sitkan  archipe 
lago,  and  controlled  the  Indians  and  institu 
ted  many  reforms  among  them.  The  com 
mander,  Captain  Glass,  seemed  to  be  governor, 
judge  and  marshal  of  Alaska,  and  displayed 
great  ability  and  exercised  justice  and 
humanity  in  a  way  to  win  the  respect  and 
control  of  the  Indians.  He  made  treaties 
of  peace  between  the  Indian  tribes,  and,  in 
fact,  kept  a  navel  protectorate  over  Alaska. 

Captain  Merriman,  and  others  who  suc 
ceeded  him,  were  equally  efficient  in  govern 
ing  the  Indians  and  acting  as  umpire  in  their 
quarrels.  He  seemed  to  have  a  paternal 
interest  in  the  Indians,  and  when  he  left 
Sitka,  crowds  gathered  at  the  wharf  to  say 
farewell  to  the  wise  and  paternal  commander. 

Those  who  succeeded  Captain  Merriman 
found  the  Indians  peaceful,  and  they  spent 
much  time  in  visiting  the  different  islands, 
and  looking  after  the  mineral  interests  of 
Alaska. 

While  we  were  at  Sitka,  the  United  States 
steamer  Pinta,  Captain  H.  E.  Nichols,  was  in 
the  harbor  in  control  of  the  navel  affairs. 
He  is  a  most  intelligent  gentleman,  and,  from 
a  long  conversation  with  him,  I  have  no  doubt 


g6       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


will  sustain  the  reputation  he  gained  while 
engaged  in  the  coast  survey  in  the  southern 
part  of  Alaska.  His  surveys  were  valuable 
to  us  through  the  charts  he  made  for  the 
"Alaska  Coast  Pilot." 

The  people  of  Sitka  speak  in  high  terms  of 
the  navel  officers,  quite  in  contrast  with  the 
former  military  operations. 

On  account  of  the  character  of  the  country 
it  is  impossible  for  a  land  force  to  be  of  any 
service.  The  Government,  after  seventeen 
years  from  the  time  of  the  purchase  of  Alaska 
passed  a  bill,  introduced  by  Senator  Harri 
son  of  Indiana,  now  President,  ( it  passed 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 
and  was  approved  by  the  signature  of  Presi 
dent  Arthur),  creating  Alaska  a  Territory, 
but  not  a  land  district.  Hon.  John  H.  Kin- 
kead,  ex-Governor  of  Nevada,  who  had  once 
resided  in  Sitka,  was  made  first  Governor, 
and  other  officers  were  appointed,  and  reached 
their  destination  in  September,  1884.  Gov 
ernor  Swinford,  of  Michigan,  was  appointed 
Governor  of  Alaska,  and  an  entire  change  of 
affairs  made  in  1885  by  the  present  adminis 
tration. 

Congress  seems  to  be  awake  to   the  possi 
bilities  of  the  great  country,  and   is  slowly 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        97 


passing  laws  to  help  its  development,  through 
schools,  by  an  appropriation  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars,  and  in  other  ways. 

People  visiting  Alaska  will  enlighten  the 
public  as  to  that  country  not  being  a  territory 
of  mountains,  icebergs  and  glaciers  alone. 
The  growth  of  the  forests  is  almost  tropical 
in  its  nature,  certainly  semi-tropical,  and  the 
"  entangled  wildwoods  "  look  like  Louisiana 
or  Florida. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  flora  of  Alaska, 
but  it  is  stated  that  on  Baranoff  Island  more 
than  three  hundred  varieties  of  wild  flowers 
are  found.  Among  the  more  valuable  grasses, 
of  which  some  thirty  species  are  known  to 
exist  in  the  Yukon  territory,  is  the  well-known 
Kentucky  blue  grass.  The  meadow-wood 
grass  is  abundant  here.  The  blue-joint  grass, 
which  grows  from  three  feet  to  five  feet  in 
height.  Many  other  grasses  grow  abundantly, 
and  contribute  largely  to  the  whole  amount 
of  herbage.  Ten  species  of  Elyonus  almost 
deceive  the  traveler  with  the  aspect  of  grain 
fields  maturing  a  perceptible  kernel,  which 
the  field  mice  lay  up  in  store. 

At  Juneau  and  Sitkawe  saw  the  Indian  wo 
men  weaving  grasses  into  mats,  baskets,  dishes, 
etc.  Articles  of  clothing  for  summer  use,  such 


98       From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


as  socks,  mittens  and  a  sort  of  hat,  and  vari 
ous  articles  to  sell  to  travelers  as  Indian 
curios  ;  were  also  offered. 

"  In  the  winter,  the  grasses  collected  in  the 
summer  for  the  purpose,  and  neatly  tied  in 
bunches,  are  shaped  to  correspond  with  the 
foot  and  the  seal-skin  sole  of  the  winter  boots 
worn  in  that  country.  There  they  serve  as  a 
non-conductor,  keeping  the  foot  dry  and 
warm,  and  protecting  from  the  confusion." 
Some  of  the  mosses  of  Alaska  are  of  special 
economic  value  as  a  substitute  for  curled 
horse  hair  in  the  manufacture  of  mattresses, 
cushions,  and  for  like  purposes. 

Wild  hops,  wild  onions  and  wild  berries 
grow  in  profusion  ;  crab  apples  ;  the  largest 
gooseberries  we  ever  saw  were  in  the  garden 
of  Mr.  Vanderbilt,  at  Sitka.  Currents,  black 
and  whortleberries,  raspberries  ;  we  picked,  on 
Indian  River,  very  large  red  and  white  sal 
mon  berries  ;  there  are  also  chicker  berries, 
pigeon  berries  and  angelica.  Almost  every 
flower  is  succeeded  by  a  berry. 

The  "  Coast  Pilot,"  by  Professor  W.  H.  Ball, 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  represents  the 
country  between  Norton  Sound  and  the  Artie 
Ocean  as  "  a  vast  moorland  whose  level  is  only 
interrupted  by  promontories  and  isolated 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        99 


mountains,  with  numerous  lakes,  bogs  and  peat 
beds.  Wherever  drainage  exists,  the  ground 
is  covered  with  luxurious  herbage  and  pro 
duces  the  rarest  as  well  as  the  most  beautiful 
plants.  The  aspect  of  some  of  these  spots  is 
very  gay.  Many  flowers  are  large  and  their 
colors  bright,  and,  though  white  and  yellow 
predominate,  other  tints  are  not  uncommon. 
Summer  sets  in  most  rapidly  in  May,  and  the 
landscape  is  quickly  overspread  with  a  lively 
green.  The  extreme  heat  and  constant  sun 
shine  cause  it  to  produce  rank  vegetation. 

From  my  own  observation,  I  have  no  doubt 
that  Alaska  will  prove,  when  developed,  as 
valuable  a  country  as  Norway,  and  far  supe 
rior  to  Russia. 

The  Aleutian,  or  Seal  Islands,  as  they  are 
called,  are  twenty-six  hundred  miles  from 
San  Francisco,  and  about  fifteen  hundred 
miles  northwest  of  Sitka  ;  all  communication 
with  them  is  by  way  of  San  Francisco. 
There  are  seventy  islands  in  all  ;  but  the  two 
small  islands  of  the  group  are  called  Saint 
George  and  Saint  Paul.  The  former  is  ten 
miles  long,  and  about  five  miles  wide  ;  the 
latter  is  thirteen  miles  in  length  by  six  in 
breadth.  St.  George  has  a  population  of  only 
ninety-two,  four  only  of  whom  are  white  ; 


ioo     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


Saint  Paul  has  about  three  hundred,  fourteen 
of  whom  are  white. 

On  the  shores  of  these  rocky  islands,  it  is 
said,  nineteen-twentieths  of  all  the  seals  of 
the  world  are  caught.  Many  of  the  ladies 
who  wear  seal  garments  are  not  aware  that 
they  are  a  product  of  our  own  country. 
The  skins  are  nearly  all  shipped  to  Europe, 
because  of  the  perfection  of  the  dye — the  art 
being  said  to  be  possessed  by  only  two  firms 
in  London  and  Paris,  which  gives  them  a 
monopoly  of  the  trade  of  the  world.  There 
are  dyers  in  this  country,  but  they  do  not 
have  the  skill  to  give  so  rich  and  dark  a  color 
as  the  English  and  French.  The  art  of 
dyeing  originated  with  the  Chinese. 

The  seal  catching  season  lasts  only  about 
seventy  days,  and,  in  the  meantime,  the  in 
habitants  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  to  the 
Russian  church. 

When  Secretary  Seward  purchased  Alaska, 
in  1867,  the  value  of  the  seals  was  not  taken 
into  account.  Congress  passed  a  law  in 
1869,  making  the  Aleutian  Islands  a  govern 
ment  reservation,  and  restricted  the  killing 
of  the  seals  to  one  hundred  thousand  an 
nually.  An  average  seal  will  measure  six 
and  one-half  feet  in  length,  and  weigh  four 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      101 

hundred  pounds.  When  in  Juneau  we  saw  a 
skin  that  measured  seven  and  one-half  feet. 

The  company  were  to  furnish  the  inhabit 
ants  with  a  certain  amount  of  subsistence 
and  fuel,  to  maintain  schools  for  the  children 
and  to  prevent  the  use  of  fire-arms  on 
or  near  the  sealing  grounds.  The  contract 
expires  in  1890,  and  it  is  said  that 
an  immense  fortune  has  been  made  by 
the  wise  and  fortunate  investment  of  these 
San  Francisco  business  men.  The  stock  of 
the  company  is  divided  into  twelve  shares, 
and  pays  a  dividend  of  about  one  million 
dollars  per  year. 

This  company  has  also  a  contract  which 
amounts  to  a  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  on 
Behring  and  Copfer  Islands,  and  at  other 
points  on  the  Kamtchatka  Coast,  and  forty 
or  fifty  other  trading  ports  in  Alaska. 

It  was  a  great  curiosity  for  us  to  visit  the 
offices  and  storage-room  while  we  were  in 
San  Francisco,  and  see  the  tens  of  thousand 
of  seal,  fox,  mink  and  marten  skins  hanging 
from  the  rafters,  and  choicest  of  bear,  deer, 
beaver  and  lynx  skins  piled  up  in  their  great 
store-rooms. 

Sea  otters  and  cod  fisheries  have  become 
an  important  industry.  Judging  by  the 


io2     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

hoarse  and  shrieking  cries  of  the  seals  at  the 
seal  cliffs,  near  San  Francisco,  we  should 
think  the  three  million  seals,  which  are  said 
to  gather  on  the  rockeries  of  Saint  Paul  and 
Saint  George  Islands,  would  make  a  terrible 
noise  above  the  roaring  of  the  ocean  in  a 
storm  as  the  waters  dash  against  the  rocks  ; 
and,  it  is  said,  during  summer  fogs  the  pilots 
are  guided  to  the  islands  by  the  noise. 

The  killing  of  the  seals  by  the  natives  is 
thus  described  :  "  They  start  out  before  dawn, 
and  running  down  the  shore,  get  between  the 
sleeping  seals  and  the  water,  and  then  drive 
them  inland,  as  they  would  so  many  sheep,  to 
the  killing  ground  a  half  mile  inland.  They 
drive  them  slowly,  giving  them  frequent  rests 
for  cooling,  and  gradually  turning  aside  and 
leaving  behind  all  seals  that  are  not  up  to  re 
quisite  age  and  condition.  When  the  poor 
tame  things  have  reached  their  death-ground, 
the  natives  go  around  with  heavy  clubs  and, 
by  one  blow  on  the  head,  kill  them." 

On  one  trip,  in  1883,  the  steamer  Saint  Paul 
brought  down  sixty-three  thousand  seal-skins, 
valued  at  six  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  tax  paid  to  the  government 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  thou 
sand  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      103 


There  are  said  to  be  ten  different  tribes  of 
Indians  on  the  coast  of  Alaska,  and  as  many 
more  inland.  At  the  taking  of  the  last  census 
there  was  an  effort  made  to  take  the  number 
of  Indians  in  Alaska,  but  without  success. 
The  number  is  estimated  to  be  from  forty  to 
fifty  thousand.  They  do  not  look  like  our 
North  American  Indians,  but  many  of  them 
look  like  the  Mongolians. 

Hon.  James  G.  Swan,  correspondent  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  at  Port  Townsend,  on 
whom  we  called,  thinks  the  whole  population 
up  to  the  Arctic  belt  are  of  Aztec  origin,  and 
gave  us  many  reasons,  on  account  of  similarity 
of  language,  features,  implements,  handiwork, 
carvings,  and  religious  emblems  and  cere 
monies. 

He  showed  us  in  his  office  some  old  silver 
idols  which  he  said  resembled  in  size,  feature 
and  figure,  the  Chiriqui  idols  of  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama.  Mr.  Newton  H.  Crittenden  in 
fers  "  from  incidental  evidences,  that  Hydahs 
are  castaways  from  Eastern  Asia,  who  first 
reached  the  islands  of  Southern  Alaska." 

Mr.  Edward  Vining,  in  his  book  entiled 
"  The  Discovery  of  America,  or  the-  Uncele 
brated  Columbus,"  inclines  to  the  Chinese 
origin,  and  reiterates  the  story  from  theorigi- 


io4     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


nal  Chinese  source  of  the  landing  of  Hwin 
Shin  and  a  party  of  Buddhist  Monks  on  the 
coast  of  Mexico  about  A.  D.  five  hundred. 
The  Indians  and  Chinese  working  together  at 
the  Treadwell  mines,  on  Douglas  Island,  cer 
tainly  resemble  each  other. 

Their  houses  are  .built  of  logs,  and  often 
covered  with  boards  hewed  out  with  an  adze. 
They  are  quite  ingenious  in  wood  carving,  as 
indicated  by  the  heraldic  emblems  on  their 
totem  poles.  The  various  articles  of  carved 
bone,  metal,  stone  and  silver,  which  they  offer 
for  sale,  are  always  original  and  unique.  The 
women  wear  silver  pins  in  their  lower  lips. 
Many  of  the  articles  enumerated  they  sell  for 
silver  dollars,  which  they  make  up  into  other 
articles  for  sale.  They  will  not  take  in  pay 
ment  gold  or  greenbacks,  they  want  silver 
only.  "Oh,  that  all  the  silver  dollars  could 
go  to  Alaska." 

When  educated  in  the  schools,  the  Indians 
would  make  good  citizens,  if  they  could  be 
employed  at  some  regular  business  ;  but  in 
Alaska  there  is,  outside  of  the  few  mines  and 
fisheries,  nothing  for  them  to  do,  and  most 
of  them  go  back  to  their  tribes,  who  ridicule 
them  about  their  education  ;  so  they  resume 
the  old  Indian  habits,  and  some  of  them  be- 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      105 

come  more  uncivilized  than  ever.  The  girls 
can  find  nothing  to  do,  unless  as  servants, 
and  the  demand  for  them  is  so  limited  that 
the  supply  is  excess.  This  is  a  serious  ques 
tion,  and  is  difficult  to  solve  until  Alaska  be 
comes  settled  with  whites,  and  her  resources 
are  developed. 

The  Indians  of  Alaska  seem  much  more  in 
telligent  than  the  North  American  Indians, 
Hon.  V.  Colfax,  special  Indian  Commissioner 
to  Alaska,  said  in  his  report  :  "  I  do  not  hesi 
tate  to  say  that  if  three-fourths  of  them 
(Alaska  Indians)  were  landed  in  New  York 
as  coming  from  Europe,  they  would  be 
selected  as  among  the  most  intelligent  of  the 
many  worthy  emigrants  who  daily  arrive  at 
that  port."  The  Indian  inhabitants  are  divi 
ded  into  four  general  divisions — Koloshians, 
Kenanians,  Aleuts  and  Eskimo.  These  are 
subdivided  into  many  tribes  and  families. 

The  Presbyterians  are  doing  a  good  work 
in  Alaska,  with  their  five  or  six  missionary 
stations  at  Eort  Wrangell,  Juneau,  Chilcot, 
Sitka  and  some  other  places.  We  visited 
their  schools  at  Fort  Wrangell  and  Sitka,  and 
were  delighted  with  the  success,  as  apparent 
from  the  appearance  of  the  boys  and  girls, 
and  from  the  answers  given  by  them  ;  they 


io6     From   Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


were  certainly  as  prompt  and  correct  as  from 
white  children  of  the  same  age  in  our 
schools.  Everybody  but  the  missionaries 
seem  to  decry  their  work,  and  think  nothing 
can  be  done  to  Christianize  or  civilize  the 
Indians.  "  When  the  children  are  educated 
at  the  schools  and  return  to  their  homes, 
they  go  back  to  their  old  habits  and  customs, 
and  become  leaders  of  all  kinds  of  wicked 
ness  and  deviltry,  and  that  their  education 
only  teaches  them  to  be  mean."  But  any 
one  looking  into  the  homes  of  the  educated, 
who  have  attended  the  schools,  will  see  a 
marked  difference.  They  are  cleanly  clad, 
have  neat  homes  and  clean  beds,  with  a  little 
stove  to  cook  their  food  and  warm  their 
rooms.  Almost  every  Indian  cabin  is  full  of 
smoke,  as  there  are  no  chimneys,  and  they 
all  have  disease  of  the  eyes,  and  are  short 
lived  from  filth  and  improper  food.  Educa 
tion  teaches  them  to  avoid  these,  and  in  time 
the  children  will  become  good  citizens.  It 
may  take  time,  but  it  will  surely  come. 

A  paper  is  published  at  Fort  Wrangell, 
under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Mr.  Young,  and 
the  type  is  set  and  the  work  all  done  by  the 
Indians.  It  is  called  the  Glacier. 

Rev.   Mr.  Williard,   at  Juneau,  preaches  to 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      107 

nine  different  tribes  of  Klinket  Indians,  who 
are  gathered  here  in  this  town  because  of  its 
being  a  mining  centre.  We  see  them  here 
just  from  their  forest  homes,  in  all  their  deg 
radation.  Rev.  Mr.  White  has  just  come 
here  to  take  charge  of  the  work  among  the 
whites,  who  are  fully  as  difficult  to  Christian 
ize  as  are  the  Indians. 

In  common  with  all  savage  people,  the  In 
dians  regard  their  women  as  slaves,  and  com 
pel  them  to  do  the  hardest  work,  while  they 
look  lazily  on,  enjoying  the  luxury  of  a  pipe, 
and  often  require  their  services  with  harsh 
words  and  cruel  blows  ;  they  are  inferior  in 
looks  and  less  in  number  than  the  men. 
Their  inferiority  rises,  probably,  from  the 
cruel  and  harsh  treatment  they  receive,  and 
their  small  number  is,  in  great  measure, 
caused  by  the  too  prevalent  custom  of  infan 
ticide.  Spared  in  infancy,  the  lesson  of  in 
feriority  is  early  burned  into  the  lives  of  the 
girls.  While  mere  babes  they  are  sometimes 
given  away  or  betrothed  to  their  future  hus 
bands,  and  when  they  arrive  at  the  age  of 
twelve  or  fourteen  years,  among  the  Tinneh 
and  the  Thrinkets  and  others,  they  are  offered 
for  ,sale.  For  a  few  blankets  a  mother  will 
sell  her  own  daughter  for  base  purposes  for  a 


io8     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


week  or  a  month,  or  for  life.  Said  a  great 
chief:  "Women  are  made  to  labor;  one  of 
them  can  haul  as  much  as  two  men  can. 
They  patch  our  tents,  make  and  mend  our 
clothes,"  etc. 

A  majority  of  the  slaves  are  women.  Poly 
gamy,  with  all  its  attendant  evils,  is  common 
among  the  tribes.  Those  wives  are  often  sis 
ters  ;  sometimes  a  man's  own  mother  or 
daughter  are  among  his  wives.  If  a  man's 
wives  bear  him  daughters,  he  continues  to 
take  other  wives  until  he  has  sons.  One  of 
the  chiefs  is  said  to  have  forty  wives.  After 
marriage  they  are  practically  slaves  of  their 
husbands.  We  have  remarked  that  the  wo 
men  wear  silver  pins  in  their  lower  lips. 
Upon  arriving  at  a  marriageable  age  the  lower 
lip  of  the  girl  is  pierced  and  the  silver  pin  is 
inserted,  the  flat  head  of  the  pin  being  in  the 
mouth  and  the  point  projecting  through  the 
lip  over  the  chin.  After  marriage  the  pin  is 
removed  from  the  woman's  lip  and  a  spool- 
shaped  plug,  called  a  labut,  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  length,  is  then  substi 
tuted.  As  the  woman  grows  older,  larger 
labuts  are  inserted,  so  that  an  old  woman  may 
have  one  two  inches  in  diameter. 

The  method  of  warfare  among  the  Alaskan 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      109 


Indians  is  an  ambush  or  surprise.  The 
prisoners  who  are  taken  are  made  slaves,  and 
the  dead  are  scalped.  The  scalps  are  woven 
into  a  kind  of  garter  by  the  victor. 

They  believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls 
from  one  body  into  that  of  another,  but  not 
into  that  of  an  animal  ;  and  the  wish  is  often 
expressed  that  in  the  next  change  they  may 
be  born  into  some  powerful  family. 

Those  bodies  that  are  burned  are  supposed 
to  be  warm  in  the  next  world  and  the  others 
cold.  If  slaves  are  sacrificed  at  the  burial  of 
their  owners,  this  relieves  the  owners  of  labor 
in  the  next  world. 

Their  religion  is  a  feeble  Polytheism.  All 
the  Alaskan  Indians  are  held  in  abject  fear  by 
the  sorcerer  and  medicine  men.  Witchcraft, 
with  all  its  awful  consequences,  is  of  univer 
sal  belief.  The  medicine  man,  or  sorcerer, 
or  showman,  as  he  is  often  called,  demands 
large  rewards  before  he  begins  his  incanta 
tions  to  heal  the  sick  ;  and  if  he  fails,  he  al 
ways  declares  that  the  failure  is  due  to  witch 
craft.  He  then  commences  to  find  the  witch, 
and  never  fails.  Hand  over  hand,  as  if  fol 
lowing  an  invisible  cord,  he  traces  the  witch, 
who  is  then  tortured  to  death.  He  or  she,  as 
the  case  may  be,  is  bound  with  the  head 


no     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


drawn  between  the  knees,  and  usually  placed 
beneath  the  floor  of  some  uninhabited  hut  un 
til  death  takes  place. 

As  the  women  do  all  the  business,  no  con 
tract  is  made  without  their  consent.  Pro 
fessor  Wright,  of  Oberlin,  Ohio,  made  ar 
rangements  at  Juneau  for  a  canoe  and  two  In 
dians,  to  accompany  him  on  his  excursion  to 
Muir  Glacier,  and  they  were  to  meet  his 
party  at  Douglas  Island.  He  was  disap 
pointed  in  not  having  them  on  hand.  He 
finally  learned  that  the  wife  of  one  objected, 
and  wanted  the  price  doubled  for  the  canoe 
and  the  services,  and  she  must  accompany  the 
party,  to  which  he  did  not  consent.  Other 
Indians  came,  and  a  new  contract  was  made 
after  an  hour's  bargaining.  He  got  the  price 
reduced  from  twenty-five  to  twenty-four  dol 
lars  for  four  week's  use  of  the  canoe,  and  one 
dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  day  for  the  services 
of  the  Indian.  The  wife  and  daughter  made 
the  contract,  and  received  the  money  in  ad 
vance,  and  the  money  was  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  third  party  to  pay  the  wages  of  the  In 
dian  on  his  return.  No  matter  what  contract 
the  husband  may  make,  even  if  the  money 
has  been  paid,  the  wives  claim  the  right  to 
undo  the  contract  and  demand  a  return  of 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      in 


what  has  been  paid.  When  the  Indians  be 
come  educated  and  Christianized,  they  want 
to  be  married  by  a  minister.  In  several  In 
dian  homes  the  women  had  their  marriage 
certificate  neatly  framed  and  hung  up  in  the 
room.  They  took  it  down  and  brought  it 
to  us  with  pride  and  pleasure  beaming  in 
their  countenances. 

As  the  Indians  approach  a  glacier,  meeting 
the  floating  ice,  carefully  avoid  striking  pieces 
of  ice,  lest  they  offend  the  ice  spirit. 

We  had  a  delightful  stay  at  Sitka.  As  we 
left  our  steamer  we  met  the  whole  population, 
as  it  seemed,  out  of  doors  ;  you  could  see  the 
people  along  the  street,  in  the  doors  of  the 
stores  and  houses  reading  their  letters,  some 
times  aloud  to  their  friends.  It  was  interest 
ing  to  watch  their  faces  and  catch  the  expres 
sions  of  joy  or  sorrow.  The  contrast  between 
the  number  of  beautiful  women  and  the 
squalid  row  of  Indian  \vomen  was  very 
marked.  We  think  the  society  of  Sitka  is 
highly  cultivated,  judging  from  what  we  saw 
of  it  at  their  homes  and  at  the  grand  bail 
given  by  the  Sitkans  in  honor  of  our  passen 
gers.  At  the  close,  a  grand  banquet  was  given 
by  Captain  Hunter,  and  when  we  left,  three 
cheers  were  given  with  a  vim  from  the  steamer 


1 1 2     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


to  the  Sitkans.  We  were  entertained  at  the 
Mission  buildings,  the  most  commanding  in 
the  place,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Austin  and  his 
assistants,  who  have  charge  of  the  Mission, 
where  there  are  about  seventy-five  or  eighty 
pupils,  many  of  whom  showed  great  pro 
ficiency. 

We  were  kindly  invited  to  Lieutenant 
Emmon's  house  to  see  the  museum  of  Alaska 
furs  and  Indian  curiosities,  arranged  in  ar 
tistic  style,  and  also  to  Mr.  Vanderbilt's,  to 
see  his  painting  of  "  Muir  Glacier,"  by 
Hall,  of  Chicago  ;  no  painter,  however,  can 
do  justice  to  so  grand  a  sight.  Mrs.  Vander- 
bilt  has  been  in  Alaska  for  a  number  of  years  ; 
she  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  seems  contented 
and  happy  with  her  beautiful  children,  and 
artistically  arranged  house,  with  a  garden  of 
flowers  and  vegetables,  showing  that  they 
can  be  cultivated  here.  We  never  saw  larger 
gooseberries  or  more  thrifty  vegetables. 

Sitka  is  an  old  town,  established  by  the 
Russians  as  their  capital  of  Russian  America. 
The  first  boat  load  of  Russians  to  land  there 
were  put  to  death,  in  1741,  by  Indians.  Old 
Sitka  is  just  north  of  the  present  place  ;  it 
was  abandoned  in  1800  on  account  of  a  mas 
sacre,  by  the  Indians,  of  all  the  Russians. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.     113 


The  present  site  was  built  upon  in  1804,  by 
Governor  Baranoff.  Alaska  was  under  mili 
tary  rule  for  many  years,  and  Sitka  became  a 
tumble-down  old  town.  Since  Congress 
passed  a  bill  giving  Alaska  civil  government, 
every  interest  in  Alaska  is  looking  up,  and 
Sitka  is  catching  the  spirit  of  improvement. 

All  the  old  prospectors  who  are  familiar 
with  Mount  Saint  Elias,  say  that  the  ascent  to 
the  top  is  almost  impossible.  A  party  re 
turned  a  few  days  since  who  had  tried  to  ex 
plore  the  mountain  ;  they  could  only  ascend 
seven  thousand  two  hundred  feet,  while  the 
mountain  is  nineteen  thousand  five  hundred 
feet  in  height,  and  they  were  prevented  going 
higher  than  they  did  on  account  of  the  clouds. 
The  snow  line  is  at  the  base  of  the  mountain, 
and  several  miles  of  glacier  had  to  be  trav 
ersed  before  the  party  reached  the  base  prior 
to  making  the  ascent.  They  were  four  days 
in  reaching  their  destination.  Lieutenant 
Schwatka  reports  discovering  an  unknown 
river,  of  great  width,  full  of  mud,  which  he 
named  Jones  river,  in  honor  of  the  editor  of 
the  New  York  Times.  Lieutenant  Schwatka 
reports  also  finding  a  number  of  mountain 
peaks  not  before  reported.  On  the  whole,  the 
discoveries  do  not  seem  to  be  of  much  value 


ii4     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


to  the  history  of  Alaska.  Lieutenant  Schwat- 
ka  reports  "  the  resources  of  Alaska  are  great, 
but  that  some  interests  like  that  of  mining,  as 
in  other  sections,  was  uncertain.  "  Other  inter 
ests  or  products  are,"  he  said,  "  thoroughly 
assured,  but  need  development."  The  fishe 
ries  he  mentioned,  among  other  things,  as 
very  promising,  but  needing  a  population 
along  the  Pacific  coast  to  develop  the  enter 
prise.  The  fur  seal  interests  are  leading  at 
present. 

Mount  Saint  Elias  was  the  first  point  of 
land  discovered  by  Vitus  Behring,  a  Russian, 
who  first  discovered  Russian  America,  in 
June,  1741  ;  he  called  the  mountain  Saint 
Elias,  on  account  of  its  being  discovered  on 
Saint  Elias  Day,  and  the  name  has  clung  to  it 
ever  since. 

Above  Sitka,  nearly  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Saint  Elias,  in  the  sixteenth  degree  of  latitude, 
near  the  Arctic  circle,  delicious  strawberries 
were  found  as  sweet-flavored  as  in  any  other 
latitude.  The  Indians  picked  them,  and  the 
supply  lasted  four  days. 

Old  pioneers,  like  Dick  Willoughby,  pro 
phesy  that  the  top  of  the  mountain  will  never 
be  reached.  Dick  is  quite  a  character  here;  he 
came  from  Virginia  in  1853,  and  knows  the 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      115 


whole  country,  and  has  several  mining  claims 
staked  out.  He  gave  us  some  specimens  of 
quartz  with  free  gold,  and  some  with  gold  and 
sulphuret,  and  others  with  gold  and  silver, 
and  much  valuable  information.  He  ought 
to  be  the  richest  man  in  Alaska,  from  his 
knowledge  of  its  gold  deposits  ;  but,  like  all 
prospectors,  will  probably  let  them  slip 
through  his  hands. 

All  intoxicating  spirits  and  opium  are  pro 
hibited  in  Alaska,  by  act  of  Congress.  Colo 
nel  French,  Collector,  publishes  a  notice  in 
the  "  Alaskan,"  stating  that  he  has  "  seized 
one  box  containing  nine  bottles  of  whiskey, 
marked  benzine  ;  eighteen  bottles  of  whiskey, 
marked  Calisaya  bark  ;  four  barrels  of  sugar, 
each  containing  a  ten  gallon  keg  of  whiskey  ; 
one  barrel  ground  coffee,  containing  a  five 
gallon  keg  of  whiskey  ;  "  showing  how  de 
termined  the  whiskey  men  are  to  smuggle  in 
whiskey,  as  they  make  great  profits  out  of  it. 

While  we  were  at  Killisnoo,  we  were  amazed 
by  seeing  marching  up  and  down  the  wharf, 
Indian  Chief  Jack,  dressed  in  full  uniform. 
He  changed  his  dress  three  times.  The  last 
was  of  costly  furs.  He  formerly  engaged  in 
a  revolt  against  the  whites,  but  suddenly 
changed,  and  the  Killisnoo  Company  now 


n6     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

pay  him  a  salary  as  a  sort  of  chief  of  police. 
He  sold  the  ladies  of  the  party  some  splendid 
Chilcoot  Indian  blankets,  at  forty  dollars 
each.  He  has  two  or  three  pretty  Indian 
wives,  and  one  lady  amateur  photographer 
wanted  to  photograph  them,  but  they  were 
not  inclined  to  allow  it.  The  Chief  and  our 
Captain  finally  succeeded  in  bringing  them  in 
front  of  the  camera,  and  I  have  no  doubt  they 
will  make  an  attractive  picture  in  their  Indian 
dress. 

There  are  but  two  white  families  among 
the  fifty  to  one  hundred  Indian  families  here. 
One  of  these  is  Russian;  the  Count,  who  had 
to  flee  his  country  on  account  of  being  a  Nihi 
list,  has  a  beautiful  wife  and  children.  Our 
ladies  were  invited  to  his  house  to  a  Russian 
tea.  The  tea  was  served  hot  in  glass  tumb 
lers,  with  lemon.  The  hostess  explained  that 
the  hot  tea  did  not  break  the  glasses  because 
of  the  silver  spoon  being  in  the  tumbler. 

The  other  was  an  intelligent  family  from 
Maine.  Both  families  seemed  quite  con 
tented,  and,  I  should  judge,  mu'st  exert  a  good 
iufluence  upon  the  Indians,  as  we  have  seen 
nowhere  more  order  or  neater  Indian  homes 
and  better  dressed  Indians.  The  old  chief 
got  up  a  grand  Indian  war  dance  for  our 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      117 

benefit,  which  was  exciting  enough  for  those 
who  had  never  before  witnessed  one. 

At  Juneau  we  met  an  enterprising  young 
man  of  twenty-two  years,  from  Boston,  who 
had  been  well  educated,  and  from  one  of  the 
old  rich  families.  He  had  Yankee  pluck,  and 
was  determined  to  strike  for  himself.  He 
came  to  Oregon  a  short  time  ago,  and  bought 
six  cows.  He  brought  them  up  here  by 
steamer,  to  start  the  milk  business,  as  there 
are  no  cows  here,  and  gets  twenty  cents  per 
quart  for  his  milk.  He  is  making  ten  dollars 
a  day,  and  expects  to  clear  three  thousand 
dollars  next  year. 

As  a  general  thing,  this  is  no  place  for  men 
to  come  expecting  to  make  fortunes  or  secure 
a  home.  The  miner  has  to  lie  idle  for  a  great 
part  of  the  year  on  account  of  the  rain,  and  it 
is  with  difficulty  he  can  get  his  products  to 
the  market.  There  are  no  territorial  laws, 
except  those  relating  to  locating  mining 
claims.  The  lands  cannot  be  sold  or  cleared 
for  agricultural  purposes;  the  trees  cannot 
be  cut  for  commerce,  and  all  who  have  come 
here  to  open  saw-mills  are  obliged  to  go  over 
the  line  into  British  Columbia,  where  a  liberal 
policy  invites  people  to  develop  industries. 
There  they  can  buy  all  the  lumber  they  want, 


n8     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

and  ship  where  they  please.  A  bill,  we 
understand,  has  been  introduced  in  Congress 
to  open  an  overland  commercial  route  be 
tween  the  United  States  and  Asiatic  Russia 
and  Japan.  Major  Powell,  Superintendent  of 
the  Geological  Survey,  says  that  a  railroad  is 
feasible  over  this  vast  extent  of  country,  and 
that  the  difficulties  to  overcome  are  not 
greater  than  in  the  construction  of  the  trans 
continental  railroads  now  in  operation.  When 
this  is  accomplished,  what  may  we  not  expect 
from  the  development  of  this  great  territory, 
which  is  fifteen  times  greater  in  extent  than 
Ohio. 

Tourists  are  just  beginning  to  come  to 
Alaska,  and  we  predict  that  before  many  years 
there  will  be  a  great  rush  to  witness  the 
grandest  scenery  in  the  world,  and  enjoy  over 
two  thousand  miles  of  salt-water  breezes 
without  the  annoyance  of  sea-sickness,  as  the 
route  lies  almost  entirely  inland,  and  is  not 
without  attractions  from  the  time  you  leave 
Tacoma,  Washington,  until  you  arrive  at 
Chilcot,  where  you  can  have  porterage  about 
thirty  miles  over  the  mountain  to  the  lakes 
and  Una  River,  one  of  the  tributaries  of 
the  great  Yukon  River,  which  is  navigable 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  miles,  and  rises 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      119 

near  the  Pacific  Ocean,  runs  north  and  then 
southwest,  and  empties  into  Behring  Sea  ;  in 
all  it  runs  two  thousand  miles.  We  have 
visited  the  Yosemite  Valley,  Norway,  Sweden, 
Switzerland,  etc.,  and  we  can  truly  say  that 
in  this  tour  of  Alaska  we  see  in  one  grand 
panorama  all  these  places  combined,  only  on 
a  much  more  grand  and  magnificent  scale. 
Better  accommodations  than  we  now  enjoy 
will  come  with  the  influx  of  travelers,  though 
we  must  say  that  Captain  Hunter  of  the  Idaho 
is  one  of  the  most  obliging  officers  that  ever 
commanded  a  steamer  ;  always  willing  to  get 
down  his  charts  and  point  out  the  different 
bays,  sounds,  straights,  seas  and  inlets,  moun 
tains,  islands,  etc. 

We  were  favored  with  delightful  weather, 
which  was  an  exception,  as  the  steamer  which 
preceded  ours  had  fog  and  rain  nearly  all  the 
way.  I  should  advise  all  coming  here  to  bring 
heavy  winter  clothing,  as  we  had  need  of  ours 
the  whole  distance. 

Glacier  is  the  name  given  to  the  immense 
masses  of  ice  which  accumulate  on  the  peaks 
and  slopes  and  in  the  upper  valleys  of  lofty 
mountains.  The  phenomena  of  glaciers  form 
one  of  the  most  interesting  subjects  of  scien 
tific  investigation,  whether  we  regard  their 


120      From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

formation,  structure  or  appearance.  In  all 
parts  of  the  globe  they  have  the  same  general 
characteristics  ;  but  though  the  glaciers  of 
other  countries  have  often  been  described  by 
geographers  and  naturalists,  it  is  chiefly  in 
respect  to  those  of  Switzerland  that  we  pos 
sess  detailed  information.  In  that  country, 
as  indeed  in  every  other,  those  parts  of  the 
mountains  that  rise  above  the  line  of  congela 
tion,  are  covered  with  perpetual  snow,  which 
being  partially  thawed  during  the  summer 
months  is,  on  the  approach  of  cold,  converted 
into  ice,  thus  constituting  what  is  called  a 
glacier.  The  ice  so  formed  descends  along 
the  slopes  of  the  mountain  into  the  valleys, 
by  which  the  ridges  are  furrowed  where  it 
accumulates  into  large  beds  or  fields,  present 
ing,  where  the  descent  is  gradual,  a  very  level 
surface,  and  with  a  few  crevices,  but  where 
there  is  a  rapid  or  rugged  declivity,  being  rent 
with  numerous  chasms. 

These  chasms  are  frequently  many  feet  wide 
and  more  than  one  hundred  feet  deep.  Their 
formation,  which  never  takes  place  in  winter, 
but  is  frequent  during  the  summer,  is  accom 
panied  with  a  loud  noise,  resembling  thunder, 
and  a  shock  which  makes  the  adjacent  moun 
tains  tremble.  They  are  subject  to  change 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      121 

every  day  and  almost  every  hour,  and  it  is 
this  circumstance  that  renders  the  ascent  of 
glaciers  so  dangerous  to  travelers,  and  they 
are  covered  with  elevations  rising  from  one 
hundred  to  four  hundred  feet. 

Though  the  snow  line  of  the  Alps  is  found 
at  an  elevation  of  about  eight  thousand  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  some  of  the  glaciers 
descend  so  far  downward  that  their  lower  ex 
tremity  is  not  more  than  three  thousand  five 
hundred  feet  above  it.  We  noticed  this  par 
ticularly  in  the  valley  of  the  Chamouni,  where 
the  singular  spectacle  is  presented  of  huge 
pyramids  of  ice,  of  a  thousand  fantastic 
shapes  in  juxtaposition  to  the  most  luxurious 
pastures,  or  towering  in  majestic  grandeur  in 
the  midst  of  verdant  forests. 

The  principle  of  descent  of  glaciers  is  two 
fold,  one  of  a  slow  and  gradual  character  like 
the  dunes  of  France,  by  which  a  progressive 
movement  of  about  twenty-five  feet  annually 
is  effected  ;  the  other  of  a  rapid  and  impetu 
ous  kind,  in  which  a  portion  of  the  ice  having 
been  disrupted  from  the  main  body  glides 
down  the  mountain's  side,  accumulating  as 
it  goes,  and  precipitating  into  the  valleys 
beneath  immense  stones,  fragments  of  rock 
and  other  substances  to  which  it  had  adhered. 


122      From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska, 

Philosophers  and  naturalists  have  attrib 
uted  this  downward  movement  of  a  glacier  to 
various  causes.  Saussure  maintained  that  it 
was  nothing  more  than  a  slipping  upon  itself, 
occasioned  by  its  own  weight  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  Agassiz  ascribes  this  motion  to  the  ex 
pansion  of  the  ice  resulting  from  the  congela 
tion  of  the  water  which  has  filtered  into  it 
and  penetrated  its  cavities  ;  while  Mallet  is 
inclined  to  attribute  it  to  the  hydrostatic 
pressure  of  the  water  which  flows  at  the  bot 
tom  and  makes  rents  in  the  mass. 

When  the  debris  which  the  glaciers  accum 
ulate  in  their  descent  has  been  deposited  in 
the  valleys,  it  constitutes  what  in  Savoy  is 
termed  their  moraine  or  border,  an  essential 
feature  in  the  Alpine  glaciers.  These  bor 
ders  present  every  variety  of  aspect,  but  their 
most  usual  appearance  is  that  of  unfathom 
able  bogs  and  morasses,  wholly  destitute  of 
vegetation,  and,  in  many  instances,  fraught 
with  infinite  peril  to  the  traveler. 

The  moraine  of  the  Alaska  glaciers  resem 
bles  a  military  fortification  ;  alongside  the 
Davidson  glacier  and  at  the  foot  of  the  Muir 
glacier,  it  was  piled  up  on  the  side  of  the 
water  with  bowlders,  sand  and  debris  difficult 
to  climb  over. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      123 

The  Alpine  glaciers  occupy  a  superficial 
extent  of  one  thousand  four  hundred  and 
eighty-four  square  miles.  From  Mount 
Blanc  to  the  borders  of  the  Tyrol  they  are 
reckoned  about  four  hundred,  of  which  the 
greater  number  varies  from  ten  to  fifteen 
miles  long  and  from  one  to  two  and  one-half 
wide,  and  one  hundred  to  six  hundred  feet 
deep.  Besides  the  grand  and  picturesque 
appearance  they  present  externally,  their 
lower  extremities  are  sometimes  excavated 
by  the  melting  of  the  ice  into  the  form  of 
immense  grottoes  adorned  with  the  finest 
stalactic  crystalizations,  whose  brilliant  azure 
tints  are  reflected  on  the  foaming  streams  and 
torrents  which  generally  issue  from  these 
caverns,  forming  altogether  so  beautiful  and 
imposing  a  picture,  as  to  defy  the  most  faith 
ful  pencil  to  adequately  portray. 

We  shall  never  forget  our  walk,  with  our 
alpenstocks,  across  the  Mere  de  Glace,  feel 
ing  our  way  along,  lest  we  fall  into  the  deep 
crevasses  two  to  three  hundred  feet  down. 

At  the  Rhone  glacier  are  seen  some  of  the 
finest  sights  in  Switzerland  ;  every  minute 
during  our  descent  some  fresh  impression  of 
the  magnitude  of  its  frozen  billows  and  its 
yawning  crevasses  came  in  sight.  At  the  foot 


124     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

of  the  glacier  we  get  a  grand  view  ;  it  extends 
fifteen  miles,  and  looks  like  Niagara  Falls 
frozen  over,  on  the  American  side  of  the 
Falls,  extending  fifteen  miles  up  the  Niagara 
River.  This  glacier  is  the  source  of  the  river 
Rhone,  which  flows  onward  to  the  sea  at 
Marseilles,  five  hundred  miles  away.  It  has 
been  said  to  issue  "  from  the  gates  of  eternal 
night  at  the  foot  of  the  Pillar  of  the  Sun," 
and  really  poetry  is  excusable  in  sight  of 
such  a  scene  of  unparalleled  grandeur.  The 
ice  cavern  and  grotto  are  magnificent. 

The  Aletsch  glacier  is  said  to  be  the  largest 
in  Switzerland  and  is  about  twenty  miles 
long  by  four  miles  wide.  Here  Agassiz  per 
formed  a  series  of  experiments  on  glacial 
action,  and  proved  that  this  glacier  moves  at 
the  rate  of  eight  inches  a  day,  or  eighty-five 
yards  per  year. 

In  high  arctic  latitudes,  while  the  line  of 
perpetual  snow  comes  down  to  the  sea  level, 
the  phenomena  of  glaciers  are  displayed  on 
the  grandest  scale.  Thus  they  were  seen  by 
Dr.  Kane  in  latitude  seventy-nine  to  eighty 
degrees,  spreading  over  the  western  coast  of 
Greenland,  and  sloping  so  gently  toward  the 
water  that  the  effect  of  an  inclined  plane  was 
perceived  by  looking  far  into  the  interior 


From    Yellowstone  .Park  to  Alaska.      125 

towards  the  east.  In  this  long  range  the 
angle  of  the  slope  was  from  seven  to  fifteen 
degrees.  From  this  glacier  to  the  southern 
extremity  of  Greenland,  a  distance  exceeding 
one  thousand  two  hundred  miles,  Dr.  Kane 
imagines  a  deep  sea  of  unbroken  ice  may  ex 
tend  along  the  central  portions  nearly  the 
whole  length  of  the  continent — a  sea  "that 
gathers  perennial  increase  from  the  watershed 
of  vast  snow-covered  mountains,  and  all  the 
precipitations  of  the  atmosphere  upon  its 
own  surface."  "  Here  was  a  plastic,  moving 
semi-solid  mass,  obliterating  life,  swallowing 
rocks  and  islands,  and  plowing  its  way  with 
irresistible  march  through  the  crust  of  an  in 
vesting  sea." 

On  our  tour  through  Norway  we  visited 
several  glaciers,  one  said  to  be  sixty  miles 
long.  Dr.  Joseph  Hooker  speaks  of  a  glacier 
in  the  Himalayan  Mountains  which  presents 
a  vertical  height  of  fourteen  thousand  feet. 
Iceland,  Spitzbergen,  the  Caucasus  and  Altai 
have  their  glaciers,  but  in  central  Europe,  in 
Switzerland,  Savoy,  Piedmont  and  the  Tyrol, 
it  is  said  they  cover  one  thousand  four  hun 
dred  and  eighty-four  square  miles. 

As  we  approached  the  glaciers  of  Alaska, 
especially  the  great  Muir  glacier,  and  climbed 


126     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

to  the  top,  we  realized  that  the  glaciers  of  the 
Alps  and  Norway  were  not  to  be  compared  to 
these  "  that  lay  glittering  like  a  great  jewel 
house,  and  dropping  bergs  of  beryl  and 
sapphire  into  the  sea." 

According  to  Dr.  Newberry,  "  glaciers  once 
covered  most  of  the  elevated  portions  of  the 
mountain  belts  in  the  West,  as  far  south  as 
the  thirty-sixth  parallel,  and  all  the  eastern 
half  of  the  continent  to  the  fortieth  parallel 
of  latitude.  That  the  ancient  glaciers,  which 
occupied  the  area  described,  were  not  pro 
duced  by  local  causes,  but  were  the  ex 
ponents  of  a  general  climatic  condition. 
That  they  could  not  have  been  the  effect  of  a 
warm  climate  and  an  abundant  precipitation 
of  moisture,  and,  therefore,  afford  proof  of 
the  truth  of  what  is  called  the  glacial  period. 
That  all  the  highest  portions  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  Mountains  were  once  covered  with 
snow  fields,  and  that  glaciers  flowed  from 
these  down  the  valleys  on  either  side." 

We  stopped  a  few  days  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Shasta,  in  California,  a  grand  old 
snow-covered  mountain,  which  once  bore 
many  glaciers,  of  which  miniature  represen 
tations  still  remain.  "  The  Cascade  Range 
of  mountains,  which  we  see  from  Puget 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      127 

Sound,  exhibits,"  says  Dr.  Newberry,  "  per 
haps  the  most  impressive  record  of  ice  action 
known  ;  all  the  higher  portions  of  the  Range 
are  planed  and  furrowed  by  glaciers  which 
descended  into  the  valley  of  the  Des  Chutes 
on  the  east  and  the  Willamette  on  the  west, 
at  least  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet  below 
the  snow  line  of  Mount  Ranier,  or,  as  the 
people  of  Tacoma  say,  Mount  Tacoma." 

Mount  Hood  has  three  distinct  glaciers, 
and  all  the  country  in  that  region  is  said  to 
be  glaciated.  In  British  Columbia  the  signs 
of  ancient  glaciation  are  conspicuous  in  all 
the  high  country  which  has  been  explored, 
as  also  on  Vancouver's  Island.  All  along  the 
coast  farther  north,  the  ancient  glaciers  have 
left  their  mark  in  all  the  fjords,  and  those  of 
the  present  day  descend  lower  and  lower 
until,  in  Alaska,  they  reach  the  sea  level. 
Over  all  the  western  mountain  ranges  the 
traces  of  ancient  glaciation  are  alike  in 
character,  and  apparently  of  the  same  date, 
and  are  evidently  the  effect  of  general  and 
not  local  causes,  says  Dr.  Newberry. 

It  is  well  that  one  visits  the  glaciers  of 
Switzerland  and  Norway  first,  then  they  are 
prepared  to  see  in  ©ur  own  country  in  Alaska 
a  more  magnificent  sight  in  purely  glacial 


128     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

scenery  than  can  be  seen  anywhere  in  the  wide 
world.  We  see  on  our  route  to  Alaska  no  less 
than  six  large  glaciers,  including  the  David 
son,  Sundown,  Brady,  Patterson,  Taku  and 
Muir.  After  entering  Alaska,  above  Fort 
Wrangell,  one  beautiful  morning,  we  see  three, 
all  visible  at  once,  on  the  east  side  of  the  nar 
rows  ;  the  larger  one,  called  the  Davidson, 
extending  back  forty  miles,  measuring  four 
miles  across  the  front  that  faces  the  water  and 
the  terminal  moraine  it  has  built  up  before  it, 
and  this  is  the  first  in  the  great  line  of  gla 
ciers  along  the  Alaska  coast.  We  had  Pro 
fessor  Wright,  of  Oberlin,  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Patton,  of  Michigan,  on  our  steamer,  who  were 
authority  on  glaciers,  from  whom  we  got 
much  information.  For  one,  I  was  free  to 
acknowledge  my  ignorance  of  glacial  origin 
and  action,  although  I  had  opportunities  to 
see  such  grand  sights  of  them  where  they  ex 
ist  in  their  grandeur  and  picturesqueness,  in 
Switzerland  and  Norway  ;  after  witnessing 
these  in  our  own  country,  I  determined  to 
read  and  study  and  know  more  of  their  his 
tory  and  what  scientists  say  about  them. 

If  I  had  time,  I  should  like  to  relate  you 
what  I  don't  know  about  glaciers,  but  life  is 
too  short  forme  to  do  this  part  of  my  subject 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      129 

justice,  and  I  will  confine  myself  to  giving 
you  an  account  of  those  in  Alaska,  as  they 
appeared  to  us.  One  must  see  them  to  real 
ize  how  grand  and  extensive  they  are.  Before 
we  reach  Taku  Inlet,  into  which  the  Taku 
river  empties,  we  see  in  the  distance  the  high 
snow-covered  mountains  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  and  as  we  approach  they  present  a  more 
magnificent  appearance,  as  we  see  them  from 
different  points  of  view,  and  that  strange 
monument,  the  Devil's  Thumb,  we  could  see 
from  a  mountain  top. 

Farther  up  in  the  Stephen's  Passage,  float 
ing  in  belts  of  the  great  glaciers  in  Holkam 
or  Sundown  Bay,  and  besides  the  one  great 
Sundown  glacier  flowing  into  the  sea,  there 
are  three  other  glaciers  hidden  in  the  high- 
walled  fjords  that  open  from  the  bay.  One 
of  the  first  and  most  adventurous  visitors  to 
the  Sundown  glacier  was  Captain  J.  W.  White, 
of  the  Revenue  Cutter  Lincoln,  who  anchored 
the  cutter  in  the  bay,  1868.  Seeing  a  great 
arch  or  tunnel  in  front  of  the  glacier,  he  had 
his  men  row  the  small  boat  into  the  deep  blue 
grotto,  and  they  went  one  hundred  feet  down 
a  crystalline  corridor,  whose  roof  was  a  thou 
sand  feet  thick.  The  colors,  he  said,  were 
marvelous,  and  like  galleries  cut  in  the  Alpine 


130     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


glaciers,  showed  fresh  wonders  with  each  ad 
vance.  At  the  farthest  point  the  adventurous 
boatmen  poured  out  libations  and  drank  to 
the  spirit  of  the  ice  kingdom. 

In  1876  gold  was  discovered,  and  the  Sun 
down  placers  were  the  first  that  were  worked 
in  Alaska.  Professor  Muir  visited  the  glacier 
and  mines  in  Sundown  Bay  in  1879,  and  at 
Shough,  a  camp  in  a  valley  at  the  head  of  the 
inlet,  found  miners  at  work  with  their  primi 
tive  rockers  and  sluices.  Reaching  the  mouth 
of  Taku  Inlet,  into  which  the  Taku  river  emp 
ties,  the  floating  ice  gave  evidence  of  the 
great  glaciers  that  lie  within  ;  and  following 
up  the  fjord  for  about  fifteen  miles  to  a  great 
basin,  we  came  suddenly  in  sight  of  three 
glaciers.  One  sloped  down  a  steep  and  rather 
narrow  ravine,  and  its  front  was  hidden  by 
another  turn  in  the  overlapping  hills.  The 
second  one,  pushed  down  between  two  high 
mountains,  and  resting  its  tongue  on  the  water, 
dropped  off  icebergs  and  cakes  that  covered 
the  surface  of  the  dull-green  water.  The 
front  of  the  icy  cliff  stretched  entirely  across 
the  half-mile  gap  between  the  mountains,  and 
its  face  rose  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  feet 
from  the  water.  Every  foot  of  it  seemed 
jagged  and  rent  with  great  fissures,  in  which 


From    Yellowstone   Park  to  Alaska.       131 

the  palest  prismatic  hues  were  flashing.  As 
the  tide  fell,  large  pieces  fell  from  this  front, 
and  avalanches  of  ice  fragments  crashed 
down  into  the  sea  and  raised  waves  that 
rocked  our  ship  and  set  the  floes  grinding 
together. 

On  the  other  point  of  the  crescent  of  this 
bay,  there  lay  the  largest  glaciers  ;  an  ice 
field  that  swept  down  from  two  mountain 
gorges,  and  spreading  out  in  fan-shape,  des 
cended  in  a  long  slope  to  a  moraine  of  sand, 
pebbles  and  bowlders.  Across  its  rolling 
front  this  glacier  measured  at  least  three 
miles,  and  the  low  level  moraine  was  one  mile 
in  width.  The  moraine's  slope  was  so  gradual, 
that  when  the  small  boats  were  lowered,  and 
we  started  for  shore,  they  grounded  one  hun 
dred  feet  from  the  water-mark,  and  there 
stuck  until  the  passengers  were  taken  off,  one 
by  one,  in  the  lightest  boat,  and  then  carried 
over  the  last  twenty  feet  of  water  in  the  sai 
lor's  arms. 

Some  one  gives  an  interesting  description 
of  experience :  "  It  was  a  time  for  old 
clothes,  to  begin  with,  and  every  one  wore 
the  worst  when  they  started  off  ;  but  at  the 
finish,  when  the  same  set  waded  through  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  sand  and  mineral  mud, 


132      From    Yellowstone   Park  to  Alaska. 

left  exposed  by  the  falling  tide,  and  were 
dumped  into  the  boats  by  the  sailors,  a  near 
relative  would  not  have  owned  one  of  us. 
The  landing  of  the  glacier  pilgrims  was  a 
scene  worthy  of  the  nimblest  caricaturist,  and 
sympathy  welled  up  for  the  poor  officers  and 
sailors  who  shouldered  stout  men  and  women, 
and  struggled  ashore  through  the  sinking 
mud  and  water.  The  burly  Captain  picked 
out  the  slightest  young  girl  and  carried  her 
ashore  like  a  doll  ;  but  the  second  officer,  de 
ceived  by  the  hollow  eyes  of  one  tall  woman, 
lifted  her  up  gallantly,  floundered  awhile  in 
the  mud,  and  the  awful  surprise  of  her  weight, 
and  then  bearer  and  burden  took  a  headlong 
plunge.  The  newly  married  man  carried  his 
bride  off  on* his  back,  and  had  that  novel 
incident  to  put  down  in  the  voluminous 
journal  of  the  honeymoon  kept  by  the  young 
people." 

As  we  sail  along  through  the  beautiful  is 
lands,  we  reach  Lynn  Canal,  so  called  by 
Vancouver,  who  honored  this  arm  of  the  sea 
with  the  name  of  his  native  place  in  Eng 
land.  The  clear  blue  sky  and  bright  sun  and 
balmy  atmosphere  made  us  all  exclaim, 
"This  is  a  perfect  day;"  and  grander  and 
more  enchanting  than  ever,  the  scenery  opens 


From    Yelloivstone  Park  to  Alaska.      133 

up  to  our  view  as  we  sail  through  Lynn 
Canal,  with  its  bold  white  mountains  on  the 
west,  and  on  the  east  shows  the  great  con 
tinental  range  which  fronts  abruptly  on  the 
water.  We  pass  peak  after  peak,  and  at  every 
point  we  are  surprised  at  another,  and  still 
another,  glacier,  until  nineteen  glaciers  in  all 
are  passed,  when  we  reach  the  head  of  the 
canai. 

The  great  Auk  glacier  was  first  seen,  and 
then  the  Eagle  glacier,  toppling  over  a  preci 
pice  three  thousand  feet  in  air,  their  frozen 
crests  and  fronts  turning  pinnacles  of  silver 
and  azure  to  the  radiant  sun.  At  the  head  of 
Lynn  Canal,  Chilkat  Inlet  opens  to  the  left, 
and  Chilcoot  Inlet  to  the  right.  Opposite  to 
the  tongue  of  land,  on  the  Chilkat  side,  is  the 
great  Davidson  glacier,  which  spreads  out 
like  a  fan,  as  it  sweeps  down  through  two 
mountains.  We  sail  beside  it  for  three  miles. 
It  is  twelve  hundred  feet  high,  and  the  term 
inal  moraine  is  covered  with  verdure  of  green 
fir  trees,  which  separate  it  from  the  waters. 

We  met  Professor  Davidson,  the  astrono 
mer,  after  whom  it  is  named,  in  San  Fran 
cisco.  We  had  a  delightful  conversation  with 
him  about  this  wonderful  country,  and  es 
pecially  about  this  glacier,  which  he  dis- 


134     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

covered,  while  making  scientific  explorations 
for  the  government  ;  he  also  gave  us  much 
information  about  Muir  glacier.  We  were  in 
Mr.  Keith's  studio,  in  San  Francisco,  at  the 
time.  Mr.  Keith  is  the  artist  who  painted  my 
Muir  glacier,  and  Professor  Davidson  com 
mended  the  painting  highly,  he  thought  it 
gave  a  more  correct  idea  of  the  great  glacier 
than  anything  he  had  ever  seen. 

Professor  Davidson  tells  a  good  story,  that 
while  in  the  Chilkat  country  in  1869 — he  was 
also  there  in  1867 — gathering  material  for  a 
report  upon  the  topography,  climate  and  re 
sources  of  Alaska,  called  for  by  the  Con 
gressional  Committee  having  the  matter  of  the 
purchase  of  the  territory  in  charge,  he  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Chief  Kloh-Kutz.  Pro 
fessor  Davidson  was  the  old  chief's  host,  and 
he  told  him  that  there  was  to  be  an  eclipse  of 
the  sun,  and  that  it  would  be  dark  at  midday 
on  August  seventh.  The  Indians  were  greatly 
interested  as  the  men  pointed  their  instru 
ments  at  the  sun  each  day,  but  they  fled  in 
terror  when  the  darkness  began  to  appear, 
and  did  not  come  back  until  the  eclipse  was 
over. 

They  thought  Professor  Davidson  was  a 
god,  or,  as  they  called  him,  a  wonderful 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      135 

medicine  man,  who  could  do  such  wonderful 
deeds,  and  the  old  Chief  Kloh-Kutz  wanted 
to  have  the  name  "Davidson  "  tattoed  on  his 
arm.  Secretary  Seward  and  party  were  in 
Alaska  at  the  time  of  the  eclipse,  and  on  their 
way  to  the  Chilkat  country.  The  Indians  who 
were  employed  to  take  them  up  in  a  canoe, 
refused,  when  the  eclipse  came  on,  to  paddle 
any  further,  and  said  :  "  The  sun  was  very 
sick  and  wanted  to  go  to  sleep."  The  canoes 
were  beached  quickly,  and  the  visitors  made 
a  camp  fire  for  themselves  and  cooked  their 
dinner.  Chief  Kloh-Kutz  had  been  told  that 
Mr.  Seward  was  the  great  Tyee  or  chief,  so  he 
had  Mr.  Seward's,  instead  of  Professor  David 
son's,  name  tattoed  on  his  arm,  with  other  to 
tems.  When  at  the  meeting  of  the  Chiefs 
and  Chilkat  women  in  the  council  chamber  to 
receive  them,  the  old  chief  rolled  up  his 
sleeve  and,  much  to  the  astonishment  of  Mr. 
Seward,  he  saw  his  name  on  the  old  chief's 
arm.  Thinking  Mr.  Seward  owned  Alaska, 
he  addressed  himself  through  an  interpreter 
to  him.  He  said  that  ten  years  before,  three 
Chilkats  had  been  killed  at  Sitka,  and  now, 
"  what  is  the  great  Tyee  going  to  do  about 
it  ?  "  Kloh-Kutz  was  not  to  be  put  off  by  the 
diplomatic  answer  that  the  murder  had  hap- 


136     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska, 

pened  during  Russian  possession  ;  he  said 
"  that  the  Tyce  of  the  Russians  was  so  poor 
that  he  could  not  keep  his  land,  and  had  to 
sell  it,"  but  for  all  that  he  must  have  repara 
tion  for  the  loss  of  his  three  Chilkats.  He 
considered  one  Chilkat  worth  three  Sitkans, 
and  if  the  Tyee  would  let  him  kill  nine  Sit 
kans,  the  account  would  be  squared.  With 
the  finesse  worthy  of  a  diplomate,  who  had 
dealt  with  all  the  great  nations  of  the  earth, 
Mr.  Seward  finally  bought  off  Kloh-Kutz  by 
giving  him  forty  blankets  as  an  indemnity. 
Kloh-Kutz  delights  to  show  his  Seward  tat 
too  mark  to  visitors. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      137 


VI. 


GLACIER    BAY.        THE    FAMOUS    MUIR    GLACIER. 
SOME    SCIENTIFIC    FACTS    CONCERNING    IT. 

AS  we  advanced  up  Glacier  Bay,  which  is 
twelve  miles  long,  and  which  was  all  ice 
when  Vancouver  explored  this  country  less 
than  one  hundred  years  ago,  icebergs  began  to 
increase  in  number  and  size  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  steamer  had  great  difficulty  in  steer 
ing  clear  of  them.  Soon  we  see  in  the  dis 
tance  the  great  Muir  Glacier,  and  how  the  ice 
sloughed  off,  and  the  sound  reverberates 
around  us  like  a  great  explosion  of  artillery 
as  the  ice  falls  into  the  water  and  throws 
great  waves,  which  rock  the  steamer.  We 
steer  up  almost  to  the  very  foot  of  the 
glacier,  which  rises  perpendicularly  above  us 
four  hundred  feet,  and  crash  after  crash 
comes  the  ice  tumbling  down  in  such  propor 
tions,  as  makes  one  feel  that  the  steamer 
might  be  submerged  by  it. 

The  ice  is  a  beautiful  torquoise  blue,  and  is 


138     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

in  regular  pinnacles,  with  great  crevasses 
running  into  the  glacier.  We  soon  prepare 
to  go  ashore  in  the  little  boat,  for  a  long 
tramp,  to  get  a  look  at  the  top  of  the  glacier  ; 
it  seems  but  a  short  distance,  and  we  walk  on 
and  over  the  sharp  rocks  which  have  been 
crushed  by  the  power  of  the  ice  ;  sand  covers 
the  ice,  and  when  we  think  we  have  a  firm 
footing,  we  find  we  are  only  stepping  on  ice 
covered  with  sand,  and  find  ourselves  in 
danger  of  a  fall.  We  try  many  high  points, 
but  are  not  satisfied  until  we  reach  the  highest 
peak  of  ice,  and  have  one  of  the  grandest 
views  the  eye  can  survey. 

The  glacier  is  said  to  be  five  miles  wide 
and  eighty  miles  long,  to  the  grand  old 
mountains  of  Crillow,  fifteen  thousand  nine 
hundred  feet  high  ;  Mount  Fairweather, 
fifteen  thousand  five  hundred  feet  ;  Mount 
Cook,  sixteen  thousand  feet,  and  many  others. 
Sometimes  Mount  Saint  Elias  can  be  seen, 
which  is  the  highest  mountain  in  North 
America,  and  the  Devil's  Thumb,  looking  no 
higher  than  the  Washington  monument,  a 
sheer  monster,  six  thousand  feet  high,  with 
faces  almost  perpendicular.  The  whole 
glacier  looks  like  a  long  mountain  range  of 
ice  ;  we  can  count  no  less  than  fifteen  tribu- 


Prom    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      139 


tary  glacial  streams,  any  one  of  which,  Mr. 
Hallock  says,  "  is  as  large  as  the  great  Rhone 
glacier,"  which  we  crossed  in  Switzerland, 
and  which  seemed  so  wonderful  at  the  time. 

"  Drawn  from  the  inexhaustible  but  an 
nually  diminishing  accumulations  of  snow, 
which  fill  the  mountain  valleys  to  a  depth  of 
at  least  two  thousand  feet,  these  separate 
streams  unite  like  the  strands  of  a  rope  to 
form  the  irresistible  current  of  the  Muir." 
No  one  could  cross  it,  it  is  so  full  of  deep 
crevasses  and  wedge-shaped  and  rounded 
cones  of  solid  ice,  capped  by  discolored  and 
disintegrating  snow.  We  gaze  in  wonder 
until  our  feet  are  cold  standing  upon  the  ice, 
and  start  to  return,  creeping  over  the  sharp 
ice  lest  we  fall  into  the  deep  gulches.  Our 
steamer  in  the  distance  looks  like  a  child's 
toy  vessel.  We  selected  some  beautiful  speci 
mens  of  bowlders  which,  by  the  action  of  the 
ice  upon  them,  were  as  smooth  as  if  polished. 
We  think  if  a  good  hotel  were  erected  on  the 
terminal  moraine  it  would  be  well  patronized  ; 
we  should  like  to  stay  a  week  and  hear  the 
ice  tumbling  down,  and  look  upon  the 
':  translucent  depths  of  the  glacier  ice,  whose 
radiance  emulates  the  blue  and  green  beryl, 
turquoise,  chrisophos  and  emerald." 


140     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


On  our  return  to  the  vessel,  after  getting 
a  good  wetting  from  the  waves  which  come 
so  suddenly  while  trying  to  reach  the  boat, 
we  compare  our  wornout  shoes  in  climbing 
sharp  rocks,  those  wearing  rubbers  found 
them  cut  into  shreds,  and  the  experiences  of 
each  are  interesting. 

We  had  climbed  probably  five  or  six  miles, 
but  we  did  not  experience  any  fatigue,  as  a 
cold,  bracing  wind  came  off  the  glacier.  The 
thermometer,  according  to  the  steamer's  re 
port,  was  in  water  forty  degrees  ;  outside 
water  forty-four  degrees. 

This  glacier  and  the  Davidson,  which,  ac 
cording  to  Hallock,  "  are  spurs  or  outflows 
of  the  same  ice  field,  which  has  an  unbroken 
expanse  of  four  hundred  miles,  are  large 
enough  to  lay  over  the  whole  domain  of 
Switzerland." 

We  left  our  friends,  Professor  Wright,  of 
Oberlin,  and  Dr.  Patton,  of  Michigan,  on  the 
shore  near  the  glacier,  where  they  camp  out 
for  a  month  to  take  measurements  of  the 
progress  of  the  glacier,  its  height,  etc.,  and 
various  phenomena  in  regard  to  it,  which 
will  be  of  great  interest  to  the  scientific 
world.  They  looked  lonely  enough  under 
the  great  bare  mountain,  and  beside  the  great 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      141 

mountain  of  ice,   with  only  two  Indians  for 
companions. 

Professor  Wright  in  his  report  says  :  "  The 
Muir  glacier  presents  to  the  observer  many 
points  of  interest  that  have  not  heretofore 
been  carefully  studied.  Among  them  its 
motion  is  likely  to  attract  most  attention  ; 
to  appreciate  the  facts  it  is  necessary  first 
to  give  a  brief  description  of  the  glacier. 

"  The  glacier  is  not  single,  but  compound, 
and  has  by  no  means  free  course  to  the  sea. 
Roughly  speaking,  it  may  be  said  to  occupy 
an  amphitheatre  about  twenty-five  miles  in 
diameter  from  north  to  south,  and  thirty 
miles  from  east  to  west.  The  opening  of  this 
amphitheatre  is  towards  the  south-south-east 
into  Muir  Inlet  or  Glacier  Bay,  and  is,  accord 
ing  to  our  measurement,  but  two  miles  wide 
from  one  shoulder  of  the  mountain  approach 
ing  it  from  the  southeast  to  the  correspond 
ing  shoulder  of  a  mountain  in  the  south-west. 
Through  this  narrow  opening  all  the  excess 
of  snow  fall  above,  what  melts  upon  the  be 
fore-mentioned  amphitheatre  must  find  its 
escape.  Into  the  centre  of  this  amphitheatre 
no  less  than  nine  first-class  glaciers  pour 
their  contents.  Were  one  to  reckon  the 
respectable  sub-branches  visible,  he  would  set 


142     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

down  the  whole  number  of  affluences  at  more 
than  twenty.  Four  of  the  main  branches 
come  in  from  the  east.  But  these  have  nearly 
spent  their  force  on  reaching  the  focus  of  the 
amphitheatre,  and  their  medial  moraines  are 
crowded  together  about  the  eastern  side  of 
the  outlet,  having  formed  the  receding  series 
of  terminal  moraines  upon  that  side.  The 
first  tributary  from  the  south-west  also  prac 
tically  loses  its  force  before  reaching  the  main 
current,  and  is  piling  up  a  series  of  terminal 
moraines  along  the  western  border. 

"  The  main  flow  of  ice  reaching  the  water 
of  Muir  Inlet  is  from  four  main  branches,  two 
coming  from  the  north-west  and  two  from  the 
north.  The  course  of  these  tributaries  is 
marked  both  above  and  below  their  junction, 
by  a  rough  broken  surface,  much  elevated 
above  the  other  portion  of  the  ice.  The  mo 
tion  of  this  portion  of  the  glacier  proves  to 
be  much  more  rapid  than  has  been  generally 
supposed.  Observations  upon  three  portions, 
four  hundred,  one  thousand,  and  one  thousand 
five  hundred  yards  from  the  front,  show  in 
that  nearest  the  front  a  motion  of  one  hun 
dred  and  thirty-five  feet  per  day.  The  sum 
mit  of  the  lower  one  was  a  little  over  three 
hundred  feet  above  the  water,  that  of  the 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      143 

next  about  four,  and  of  the  third  consider 
ably  more  than  four  hundred,  perhaps  five 
hundred  feet.  The  motion  rapidly  demin- 
ishes  on  approaching  the  medial  moraine, 
brought  down  by  the  branches  from  the  east. 
Along  a  line  running  parallel  with  that  of  the 
greatest  motion,  and  about  half  a  mile  east 
from  it,  the  rate  of  motion  observed  at  two 
points  was  about  ten  feet  per  day.  Thus  we 
get  an  average  daily  motion  in  the  main  chan 
nel  of  the  ice  flow,  near  its  mouth,  of  about 
forty  feet  across  a  section  of  one  mile.  From 
this  an  approximate  estimate  can  be  made  of 
the  daily  discharge. 

"  The  height  of  the  ice  front  at  the  extreme 
point,  is  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet. 
Back  a  few  hundred  feet  it  is  a  litt'e  over 
three  hundred  feet,  and  at  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
it  reaches  a  height  of  four  hundred  feet. 
The  depth  of  the  water  one  quarter  of  a  mile 
in  front  of  the  center,  is  eighty-five  fathoms 
or  five  hundred  and  ten  feet.  Thus  the  con, 
elusion  is  reached  that  a  stream  of  ice  seven 
hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  deep,  five  thous< 
and  feet  wide,  and  one  thousand  two  hun 
dred  feet  long  poured  out  into  the  inlet  dur 
ing  thirty  days  of  our  stay  in  camp.  This  is 
at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  forty-nine 


i44 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


million  cubic  feet  per  day.  If  this  seems  an 
improbable  result,  it  is  because  one  has  not 
witnessed  the  many  signs  of  the  movement 
which  is  going  on. 

"  Scarcely  ten  minutes  passes,  either  in  the 
day  or  night,  without  the  reverberation  of  an 
extensive  fall  of  ice.  This  reverberation  can 
be  heard  for  miles  and  reminds  one  of  the 
bombardment  of  a  city,  or  of  a  first-class  thun 
der-storm.  The  waves  startled  by  these  falls, 
frequently  wrapped  in  foam  the  beach  near 
our  camp,  two  and  one  half  miles  distant. 
Frequently  the  floating  ice  was  so  thick  over 
the  inlet  that  it  was  difficult  to  find  passage 
way  for  our  canoe.  One  of  the  many  large 
masses  of  ice  projected  sixty  feet  above  the 
water  and  was  about  four  hundred  feet 
square.  The  portion  above  the  water  was 
somewhat  irregular,  but  allowing  that  a  sym 
metrical  form  thirty  feet  high  would  have 
contained  all  the  ice  above  the  water,  that 
would  give  us  a  depth  of  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  ;  upon  this  calculation,  that  sin 
gle  berg  contained  forty  million  cubic  feet. 
The  house  that  measures  forty  by  fifty  by 
thirty  feet  contains  sixty  thousand  cubic 
feet. 

"  The  dimensions  of  the  Idaho  are,  length 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      145 

one  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet,  width  thirty- 
one  feet  by  thirty  feet  above  water,  making 
one  hundred  and  eighty-four  thousand,  one 
hundred  and  forty  cubic  feet  :  that  berg 
was  two  hundred  times  larger  than  the 
Idaho. 

"  Thus  we  can  see  that  the  rate  of  motion 
shown  by  our  measurement  in  the  main  chan 
nel  of  the  ice  current  accords  with  the  other 
facts.  The  largeness  of  the  results  need  not 
surprise  us,  even  when  compared  with  that  of 
Swiss  glaciers,  for  the  Swiss  glaciers  are  con 
tracted  affairs  in  comparison  with  the  Muir 
glacier.  The  outlet  of  the  Muir  glacier  is 
four  times  as  wide  as  those  measured  by  Pro 
fessor  Tyndall,  and  the  area  occupied  by  the 
whole  glacier  is  certainly  six  times  as  large  as 
the  whole  surface  from  which  the  Mount 
Blanc  glaciers  derive  their  snow. 

"  Ice  moves  not  so  much  from  the  inclina 
tion  of  its  bed  as  from  the  extent  of  its  mass. 

"  This  is  the  first  time  that  accurate  obser 
vations  have  been  made  upon  the  movements 
of  so  large  a  mass  of  ice,  and  the  results  will 
not  surprise  those  who  have  had  the  main 
elements  of  this  problem  in  their  minds." 

We  did  not  go  north  of  Sitka  on  the  Paci 
fic  coast,  but  Lieutenant  Schwatka  says : 


146     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

"Almost  as  soon  as  Cape  Spencer  is  doubled, 
the  southern  spurs  of  the  Mount  Saint  Elias 
Alps  burst  into  view,  Crillon  and  Fairweather 
being  prominent,  and  the  latter  easily  recog 
nized  from  our  acquaintance  with  it  from  the 
waters  of  Glacier  Bay.  A  trip  of  an  hour  or 
two  takes  us  along  a  comparatively  uninter 
esting  coast,  as  viewed  from  the  '  square  off 
our  starboard  beam  ;'  but  all  this  time  the 
mind  is  fixed  by  the  grand  Alpine  views  we 
have  ahead  of  us,  that  are  slowly  developing 
in  plainer  outline  here  and  there  as  we  speed 
toward  them.  Soon  we  are  abreast  of  Icy 
Point  ;  while  just  beyond  it  comes  down  a 
glacier  to  the  ocean  that  gives  about  three 
miles  of  solid  sea-wall  of  ice,  while  its  source 
is  lost  in  the  heights  covering  the  bases  of  the 
snowy  peaks  just  behind.  The  high  peak  to 
the  right,  as  we  steam  by  the  glacier  front,  is 
Mount  La  Perouse,  named  for  one  of  the 
most  daring  of  France's  long  list  of  explorers, 
and  .who  lost  his  life  in  the  interest  of  geo 
graphical  science.  His  eyes  rested  on  this 
range  of  Alpine  peaks  in  1786,  just  a  century 
ago.  Its  sides  are  furrowed  with  glaciers, 
one  of  which  is  the  ice-wall  before  our  eyes, 
and  which  is  generally  known  as  the  La  Pe 
rouse  glacier.  The  highest  peak  of  all,  and. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      147 

on  the  left  of  this  noble  range  is  Mount  Cril- 
lon,  named  by  La  Perouse,  in  1786,  after  the 
French  minister  of  Marine  ;  while  between 
Crillon  and  La  Perouse  is  Mount  d'Agelet, 
named  for  the  astronomer  of  that  celebrated 
expedition." 


148     From    Yellowstone  Park  ta  Alaska. 


VII. 

MOUNT  CRILLON,  MOUNT  FAIRWEATHER  AND 
SISTER  PEAKS.  THE  INDIANS  AND  THEIR 
PECULIARITIES. 

CRILLON  cleaves  the  air  for  sixteen  thou 
sand  feet  above  the  sea,  on  which  we 
rest,  and  can  be  seen  for  over  a  hundred  miles 
at  sea.  It,  too,  is  surrounded  with  glaciers 
in  all  directions  from  its  crown.  Crillon  and 
La  Perouse  are  about  seven  miles  apart, 
nearly  north  and  south  of  each  other. 

About  fifteen  miles  north-west  of  Crillon  is 
Lituya  Peak,  ten  thousand  feet  high  ;  and  the 
little  bay-opening  that  we  pass,  between  the 
two,  is  the  entrance  to  Lituya  Bay,  a  sheet  of 
water  which  La  Perouse  has  pronounced  as 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  in  the  world 
for  grand  scenery,  with  its  glaciers  and  Al 
pine  shores.  Our  steamer  will  not  enter, 
however,  for  the  passage  is  dangerous  even  to 
small  boats — one  island  bearing  a  monument 
to  the  officers  and  men  of  La  Perouse's  ex 
pedition,  lost  in  the  tidal-wave  which  sweeps 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      149 

through  the  contracted  passage  like  breakers 
over  a  treacherous  bar. 

Some  ten  or  twelve  miles  north-west  from 
Lituya  Peak  is  Mount  Fairweather,  which 
bears  abreast  of  us  after  a  little  over  an  hour's 
run  from  Lituya  Bay.  It  was  named  by  Cook 
in  1778,  and  is  generally  considered  to  be  a 
few  hundred  feet  shorter  than  Mount  Crillon. 
It  is  in  every  way,  by  its  peculiar  isolation 
from  near  ridges,  almost  as  high  as  itself,  a 
much  grander  peak  than  Crillon,  whose  sur 
roundings  are  not  so  good  for  a  fine  Alpine 

display. 

Fairweather,  too,  has  its  frozen  river  flow 
ing  down  its  sides  ;  but  none  of  these  reach 
the  sea,  for  a  low,  wooded  country,  some  three 
or  four  miles  in  width,  lies  like  a  glacis  at  the 
seaward  side  of  the  Saint  Elias  Alps,  for  a 
short  distance  along  this  part  of  the  coast. 
The  sombre,  deep  green  forests  add  an  im 
pressive  feature  to  the  scene,  however,  lying 
between  the  dancing  waves  below  and  the 
white  and  blue  glacier  ice  above. 

Rounding    Cape    Fairweather,    the    coast 

trends    northward  ;  and,    as    our  bowsprit  is 

pointed  in  the  same  direction,  we  have  a  view 

of  immense  glaciers  reaching  to  the  sea. 

From  Cape  Fairweather  (abreast  of  Mount 


150     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

Fairweather)  to  Yakutat  Bay,  (abreast  of 
Mount  Vancouver),  no  conspicuous  peak  rears 
its  head  above  the  grand  mountain  chain, 
which,  for  nearly  one  hundred  miles,  lies  be 
tween  these  two  Alpine  bastions  ;  but,  never 
theless,  every  hour  reveals  a  new  mountain  of 
five  to  eight  thousand  feet  in  height,  which, 
if  placed  anywhere  else,  would  be  held  up 
with  national  or  state  pride  as  a  grand  acqui 
sition  ;  here  they  are  only  dwarfed  by  grander 
peaks. 

On  our  return  from  Alaska,  our  steamer 
anchored  off  Metlakahtla,  an  Arcadian  village 
of  civilized  Indians,  built  around  a  bay  on 
Chimsgan  Peninsula,  just  below  the  Alaskan 
boundary  line,  and  but  a  little  way  south  of 
Fort  Simson,  in  British  Columbia,  the  chief 
Hudson  Bay  Company  trading  post  of  the 
region,  where  the  great  canoe  market  and  the 
feasts  and  dances  of  the  Indians  enliven  the 
centre  of  trade  each  fall.  The  coast  is  rugged 
and  fierce  as  the  natives  who  inhabit  it.  Met 
lakahtla,  in  the  distance,  looks  like  a  New 
England  village,  with  its  white  frame  houses 
and  large  white  frame  meeting  house. 

The  story,  as  learned,  of  these  Indians,  of 
their  terrible  barbarity,  is  almost  too  horrible 
to  believe.  Nine  Tsimshean  tribes  centre 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      151 


around  Fort  Simson,  notorious  on  the  whole 
coast  for  their  cruel,  bloodthirsty  savagery- 
given  up  to  dark  superstition  and  atrocious 
habits  of  cannibalism — they  were  constantly 
waging  wars  upon  the  neighboring  tribes. 
Their  warfare  was  carried  on  with  revolting 
cruelty,  and  in  taking  captives  they  enslaved 
the  women  and  children  and  beheaded  the 
men. 

Mr.  William  Duncan,  of  England,  left  mer 
cantile  life  to  take  up  this  missionary  work, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  English  Church 
Missionary  Society,  in  1857  ;  he  came  around 
Cape  Horn  ;  the  Governor  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  urged  upon  him  the  folly  of  at 
tempting  to  civilize  the  murderous  hordes  of 
the  North  Pacific,  warning  him  that  they 
would  murder  him.  Mr.  Duncan  seems  to 
have  been  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  heroic 
men  that  ever  undertook  to  christianize  and 
civilize  the  Indians.  General  Sheridan  says  : 
"There  is  no  good  Indian  but  a  dead  Indian." 
Mr.  Duncan  showed  most  conclusively  that 
they  are  subject  to  the  same  influences  that 
white  men  are. 

The  Tsimshean's  beliefs  and  superstitions 
are  merely  based  on  their  rich  fund  of  legen 
dary  lore.  They  have  a  version  of  the  crea- 


152     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

tion,  and  of  the  flood  ;  they  believe  in  good 
and  evil  genius,  and  in  special  deities  who 
control  the  seas  and  storms.  They  believe 
that  the  world  was  once  wrapped  in  utter 
darkness  and  inhabited  only  by  frogs  ;  the 
frogs  refusing  to  supply  the  devil  with  oolu- 
chan,  he,  to  be  avenged,  sneaked  into  heaven 
and  stole  daylight,  which  was  kept  there  in 
the  form  of  a  ball,  and  broke  it  over  their 
heads,  and  thus  gave  light  to  the  world.  The 
chief  traits  of  the  devils  were  lying  and 
stealing. 

The  world  was  at  one  time  very  close  to 
heaven,  so  very  close  that  the  people  in 
heaven  could  hear  the  voices  of  those  on 
earth,  and  the  people  on  earth  could  hear  the 
voices  of  those  in  heaven  ;  the  children  of 
the  earth  made  such  a  clamor  that  they  dis 
turbed  the  great  Shimanquet  Lakkah,  and  he 
shoved  the  earth"  a  long  way  off.  In  the  next 
world  the  good  will  have  the  best  quality  of 
fish  and  game,  while  the  wicked  will  receive 
only  that  caught  out  of  season  and  of  the 
poorest  quality. 

The  medicine  man,  claiming  direct  inter 
course  with  the  spirit  world,  held  great  in 
fluence  over  the  people.  He  arrayed  himself 
in  the  skin  of  a  lion  or  wolf,  the  head  and 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      153 

muzzle  of  which  formed  a  helmet,  the  tushes 
falling  about  the  temples.  A  hideous  carved 
mask  covered  his  face,  while  armlets  and 
anklets,  of  repulsive  design,  encircled  his 
shrivelled  limbs.  To  add  to  the  ferocity  of 
his  appearance,  the  exposed  parts  of  his  body 
were  daubed  with  red  and  black  paint,  and  he 
was  covered  with  -pendant  charms,  such  as 
dried  skunk  skins,  distended  fish-bladders, 
tails  of  animals,  feathers,  rare  shells,  highly 
polished  little  horns,  eagles'  claws,  engraved 
bones  and  teeth,  which  dangled  about  him  as 
he  advanced  into  the  room,  with  a  series  of 
postures  and  jerks,  armed  with  a  mystic  wand 
and  a  large  wooden  rattle,  fashioned  in  the 
form  of  an  eagle,  with  a  demon  covered  on 
its  back,  pulling  out  a  man's  tongue  with  its 
teeth,  he  proceeds  aggressively  to  overpower 
and  frighten  away  the  evil  spirits  by  giving 
vent  to  a  series  of  unearthly  wailing  and  gut- 
teral  sounds,  vehemently  brandishing  and 
marking  time  with  the  rattle.  If  not  success 
ful  in  frightening  away  the  evil  one  by  these 
noises,  he  begins  to  hack  the  ailing  part  and 
suck  and  burn  it  out. 

The  Shaman  receives  a  liberal  retainer,  in 
view  of  securing  his  cleverest  arts  in  exor 
cising  the  invading  demon.  This  evil  spirit 


154     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


was  supposed  to  be  sent, by  some  designing 
enemy,  who,  if  discovered,  was  killed  by  the 
relative  of  the  afflicted.  If  the  patient  re 
covered,  the  Shaman  received  an  additional 
fee  ;  if  he  died,  the  fees  must  be  returned 
forthwith,  and  he  also  sometimes  suffered 
death  as  a  penalty  for  his  "bad  medicine." 

All  of  the  Northern  Pacific  tribes  of  In 
dians  are  full  of  inordinate  personal  vanity 
and  pride.  Because  of  a  slight  taunt  or  in 
sult,  a  man  will  sometimes  kill  a  slave  or  de 
stroy  all  his  property,  believing  that  he  there 
by  wipes  out  the  disgrace. 

"  Some  years  ago,"  says  Mr.  Welcome,  "an 
officer  in  charge  of  a  division  of  an  Arctic 
Search  Expedition  indiscreetly  gave  out  that 
he  was  about  to  send  for  a  certain  prominent 
chief,  word  of  which  reached  the  ears  of  the 
chief  in  question,  who  was  in  the  habit  of 
being  waited  upon,  or  the  honor  of  his 
presence  requested  ;  so  when  the  officer's 
emissaries  arrived,  they  were  carved,  and 
grilled,  and  eaten  by  the  affronted  chief  and 
his  council — this  to  wipe  out  the  insult." 

They  give  great  feasts  when  they  accumu 
late  enough  property,  and  impoverish  them 
selves.  Most  of  their  property  is  in  furs  and 
blankets,  which  is  their  exchange.  Sometimes 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      155 


at  their  feasts  they  kill  their  slaves  and  give 
away  their  furs  and  blankets  ;  and  the  one 
who  can  give  the  greatest  feast,  and  give 
away  the  most,  is  considered  the  most  promi 
nent  and  greatest  man  among  them. 

When  the  girls  reach  the  age  of  puberty, 
they  are  confined  for  one  month  in  an  isolated 
cabin.  No  one  is  allowed  to  see  them  at  this 
time,  and  it  is  supposed  that  they  are  away 
on  a  voyage  to  the  moon,  or  to  some  other 
celestial  abode,  and  at  the  end  of  the  month 
they  return  to  their  people,  amid  great  feast 
ing  and  rejoicing. 

It  is  on  the  occasion  of  a  feast  accompany 
ing  Potlach,  or  giving  away,  or  destroying 
property,  or  the  return  of  a  maiden,  or  the 
initiating  of  youth  into  the  mysteries  of 
Shaminism,  that  dog  eating  and  cannibalism, 
devil  dancing  and  other  wild  revelries  occur. 
In  one  of  his  letters  Mr.  Duncan  writes  :  "  To 
attempt  to  describe  their  condition  would  be 
but  to  produce  a  dark,  revolting  picture  of 
human  depravity.  The  dark  mantle  of  de 
grading  superstition  envelops  them  all,  and 
their  savage  spirits,  swayed  by  pride,  jealousy 
and  revenge,  were  ever  hurrying  them  on  to 
deeds  of  blood.  Their  history  is  little  else 
than  a  chapter  of  crime  and  misery." 


156     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


Shortly  after  Mr.  Duncan's  arrival  he  wit 
nessed,  while  standing  on  the  gallery  of  one 
of  the  bastions,  a  most  sickening  sight.  A 
party  of  hideously  painted  and  bedecked 
cannibals,  tearing  limb  from  limb  the  body  of 
a  woman  who  had  just  been  foully  murdered 
by  a  chief,  each  struggling  for  a  morsel  of  the 
human  flesh,  which  they  devoured,  accom 
panying  their  fiendish  orgies  with  unearthly 
howls  and  the  weird  beating  of  their  medicine 
drums.  Bespattered  with  the  blood  of  their 
victims,  maddened  with  rum,  frenzied  by 
their  hysterical  enthusiasm  in  these  super 
stitious  rites,  they  wrought  themselves  into 
wild,  furious  delirium,  imitating  ravenous 
wolves  in  their  ferocity.  These  ceremonies 
continued  during  the  night,  and  were  followed 
by  debaucheries  lasting  several  days,  during 
which  time  most  terrible  atrocities  were  per 
petrated,  several  of  their  number  being  slain 
just  without  the  gates  of  the  fort. 

These  were  the  barbarians  whom  Mr.  Dun 
can  came  across  the  Atlantic  to  civilize.  He 
commenced  at  once  to  learn  their  language, 
and  he  called  Clark,  one  of  the  most  intelli 
gent  Tsimshean  natives,  to  assist  him  in 
learning  it.  In  the  fort  all  intercourse  with 
them  was  by  means  ot  signs  common  to  the 


; 

., 


DEVIL'S  THTMB.  ALASKA. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      157 


coast  ;  no  white  man  had  ever  been  able  to 
master  the  language.  At  the  end  of  several 
months  he  was  able  to  write  sufficiently  in 
the  language  to  explain  to  them  what  he 
wished  to  accomplish  among  them,  and  to 
bring  to  them  a  message  from  God,  not  to 
trade  for  their  blankets  and  furs,  and  to  show 
them  how  they  could  be  equal  to  the  white 
man.  They  considered  him  a  supernatural 
being,  and  he  was  received  among  them 
kindly,  notwithstanding  the  warning  he  had 
received  from  the  inmates  of  the  fort  that  his 
life  was  in  danger.  It  was  difficult  to  gain 
their  attention,  they  were  so  much  interested 
in  the  buttons  on  his  coat.  He  repeated 
over  and  over  what  he  desired  to  teach  them, 
until  they  gave  due  heed  to  what  he  wanted 
them  to  learn. 

Their  figures  of  speech  were  picturesque 
and  expressive.  One  minister  says  :  "  Mr. 
Welcome  addressed  them  as  '  children  of  the 
forest,'  and  was  not  a  little  confused  when  he 
found  that  his  interpreter  could  only  render 
it  in  the  Chinook  jargon,  *  Tanass  man  cupah 
hyyn  stick,'  signifying  little  men  among  many 
sticks  and  stumps." 


158     Prom    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


VIII. 

MR.    DUNCAN    AND    HIS    MISSION    WORK    AMONG 
THE    NATIVES. 

Q  PEAKING  of  translations,  Professor  G.  F. 
vJ  Wright  told  the  Boston  ministers  of  a 
ludicrous  turn  in  an  Indian  version  of  the 
twenty-third  Psalm,  which  he  found  in  his 
Alaska  peregrinations.  The  missionary  had 
been  handicapped  in  his  endeavor  to  trans 
late  "  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,"  by  the  utter 
absence  in  Alaska  of  anything  like  ordinary 
sheep.  He  finally  thought  he  had  sur 
mounted  the  difficulty,  and  passing  the  result 
of  his  labors  over  to  the  natives,  was  dum- 
founded  to  hear  them  read,  "  The  Lord  is  a 
first-class  mountain  sheep  hunter." 

Mr.  Duncan  told  them  the  simple  story  of 
the  Bible  and  Jesus  Christ,  and  how  terrible 
was  the  crime  of  murder,  and  contrasted 
what  made  the  difference  between  them  and 
the  white  man.  He  opened  a  school  at  one 
of  the  chief's,  and  children  and  older  persons 
gladly  came  ;  he  built  a  log  school-house. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      159 


They  soon  began  to  see  the  difference  be 
tween  the  white  men  and  themselves,  and 
learned  the  secret  of  eternal  things,  which 
they  did  not  possess.  He  was  a  good  pastor  ; 
he  visited  the  homes  of  all  classes,  and 
learned  all  their  customs,  and  got  into  their 
hearts,  and  found  that  they  were  susceptible 
to  kindness  and  attention,  the  same  as  the 
white  people. 

The  Shamans,  or  medicine  men,  were  his 
greatest  hindrance,  for  they  soon  learned  that 
their  sorcery  would  come  to  an  end  if  the  peo 
ple  were  enlightened,  as  they  would  not  then 
believe  in  their  jugglery.  But  he  was  deter 
mined  to  thwart  them  in  their  fury  to  stop 
the  schools,  and  many  times,  by  his  boldness 
and  daring,  prevented  them  murdering  him. 

They  found  in  him  a  friend  when  they  were 
sick  or  in  trouble  ;  he  showed  them  the 
material  advantages  to  be  gained  by  follow 
ing  the  teachings  of  Christ  and  the  new  life — 
he  did  not  teach  them  spiritual  things  first. 
Mr.  Duncan  found  them  extremely  filthy.  I 
don't  think  we  ever  saw,  in  all  our  travels, 
such  filth  and  stench  as  we  experienced  in 
their  huts  and  cabins  in  Alaska.  Mr.  Dun 
can  went  to  the  foundation  of  things,  and  at 
once  set  about  cheapening  the  price  of  soap 


160     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


by  teaching  them  how  to  make  it.  They 
formerly  had  to  pay  one  mink  skin,  worth  a 
dollar,  for  a  bar  of  soap  the  thickness  of  one 
finger,  whereas  he  produced  a  large  bar  for 
sixpence  ;  this  was  only  the  beginning  of  the 
introduction  of  other  industries,  which  had  a 
decided  effect  upon  them. 

The  Alaskan  Commercial  Company  has  a 
monopoly  of  the  fisheries  and  trade  in  furs 
throughout  Alaska  and,  it  is  said,  opposes  all 
territorial  government,  education,  and  every 
civilizing  effort,  because  it  affects  unfavorably 
the  Company's  greed  of  gain.  We  met  their 
agents  everywhere  decrying  the  schools,  the 
missions,  and  opposing  the  admission  of 
Alaska  as  territory  under  the  laws  which 
govern  other  territories  of  the  United  States. 
When  any  movement  is  made  to  get  an 
appropriation  from  Congress  for  educational 
and  other  matters  for  the  good  of  Alaska, 
agents  and  lobbyists  are  sent  to  Washington 
to  work  against  the  measures,  because,  for 
sooth,  it  would  effect  unfavorably  the  trade 
of  the  Alaskan  Commercial  Company  ;  the 
mineral  laws  alone  are  in  force. 

Mr.  Duncan  soon  began  to  have  great  oppo 
sition  in  his  work  from  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  because  these  civilizing  habits, 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      161 

which  he  taught  the  Indians,  affected  their 
trade.  At  the  end  of  four  years  he  had  a 
number  of  sincere  followers,  but  the  influence 
and  bad  habits  of  the  white,  and  the  drunk 
enness  which  gathers  around  a  trading-post, 
and  the  influence  and  intercourse  with  the 
Indians  who  continued  their  heathenish  rites, 
and  who  tried  in  every  way  by  taunting 
them  to  destroy  the  work  of  the  Christian 
white  man. 

"  One  of  the  most  serious  difficulties,"  said 
Mr.  Welcome,  "in  reforming  the  women,  lay 
in  the  practice  of  the  parents  selling  their 
daughters,  and  that  the  men  hired  out  their 
wives  and  slaves  to  white  men  for  prostitu 
tion.  In  holding  slaves  as  their  concubines, 
not  unfrequently  the  white  traders  left  child 
ren  of  their  own  blood  in  slavery." 

Mr.  Duncan  decided  to  go  off  by  himself 
and  gather  the  Indians  about  him  where  they 
would  be  safe  from  these  influences.  He 
selected  a  place  called  Metlakahtla,  about 
twenty  miles  from  Fort  Simson,  and  the  site 
of  one  of  the  ancient  Tsimshean  villages. 
Metlakahtla  presented  the  advantages  of 
good  and  convenient  fishing  and  hunting 
grounds,  a  good  harbor,  and  a  suitable  soil 
for  gardening  ;  besides  nature  has  modeled 


162      I? to  in    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

its  surroundings  on  a  plan  of  remarkable 
beauty  and  grandeur.  Mr.  Duncan  pulled 
down  his  school-house  and  formed  his  mater 
ials  into  a  raft  to  be  navigated  to  Metlakahtla 
harbor.  He  describes  as  extremely  solemn 
and  impressive  the  embarkation  of  his  little 
flock  of  fifty  Tsimshean  Indians,  in  their  six 
canoes.  They  had  great  opposition  from 
the  Shamans,  and  some  promised  to  follow 
them. 

Now,  in  about  twenty  or  twenty-five  years, 
they  have  built  up  a  model  town  that  they 
have  reason  to  be  proud  of.  Those  who 
joined  Mr.  Duncan  in  the  new  location,  sub 
scribed  to  the  following  rules  : 

First. — To  give  up  their  ahhid  or  Indian 
devils. 

Second. — To  cease  calling  in  the  Shamans, 
or  medical  men,  when  sick. 

Third. — To  cease  gambling. 

Fourth. — To  cease  giving  away  their  pro 
perty  for  display. 

Fifth. — To  cease  painting  their  faces. 

Sixth. — To  cease  indulging  in  intoxicating 
drinks. 

Seventh. — To  rest  on  the  Sabbath. 

Eighth. — To    attend    religious    instruction. 

Ninth. — To  send  their  children  to  school. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      163 


Tenth.— To  be  cleanly. 

Eleventh. — To  be  industrious. 

Twelfth. — To  be  peaceful. 

Thirteenth. — To  be  liberal  and  honest  in 
trade. 

Fourteenth. — To  build  neat  houses. 

Fifteenth. — To  pay  the  village  tax. 

Is  not  the  above  a  pretty  good  set  of  rules 
to  govern  any  cummunity  ?  A  strip  of  land 
was  marked  out  for  church  purposes  and 
the  rest  of  it  divided  among  the  Indians. 

Most  of  those  who  knew  of  Mr.  Duncan's 
movements,  prophesied  that  his  efforts  to  civ 
ilize  such  barbarous  tribes  of  cannibals  would 
be  a  failure,  but  he  put  his  whole  heart  and 
soul  into  the  work. 

His  faith  has  been  proven  in  the  wonder 
ful  results  attained,  and  the  self-respecting, 
self-supporting  community  at  Metlakahtla 
proves  that  the  Indians  can  be  civilized  as 
well  as  educated  in  one  generation,  if  the 
right  man  and  the  right  means  are  employed. 
He  placed  upon  the  Indians  themselves  much 
of  the  responsibility  ;  he  taught  them  to  gov 
ern  themselves.  He  organized  a  village 
council  of  twelve,  including  the  chiefs  who 
had  joined  him,  and  a  constabulary  force  ; 
he  was  obliged  often  to  use  his  own  judgment 


1 64      From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

arbitrarily,  but  the  council  was  consulted  on 
all  important  matters. 

It  could  not  be  expected  that  their  sense  of 
justice  and  right  would  predominate,  having 
been  educated  so  many  years  in  such  barba 
rous  practices.  Their  sitting  in  judgment 
was  often  very  anomalous,  especially  in  pas 
sing  judgment  upon  the  offences  of  their  own 
people. 

"  Various  public  works,"  says  Mr.  Welcome, 
"were  required,  and 'consequently  a  tax  was 
necessary  ;  this  was  fixed  at  one  blanket, 
valued  at  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  for  each 
male  adult ;  and  one  shirt,  valued  at  one  dollar, 
for  such  as  were  approaching  manhood.  The 
first  assessment  yielded  to  the  exchequer  the 
following  unique  return  :  One  green,  one 
blue  and  ninety-four  white  blankets,  one  pair 
white  trowsers,  one  dressed  elk  skin,  seven 
teen  shirts  and  seven  dollars." 

They  were  put  to  work  in  making  the 
premises  healthful,  by  digging  drains,  making 
roads,  etc.  They  built  two  large  houses  to 
accommodate  the  wild  Indians  who  came  to 
trade  with  them,  so  that  they  should  not 
mingle  with  their  old  companions  in  their 
uncivilized  state.  They  dug  wells  and  formed 
a  public  common  and  play  ground.  Mr. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      165 

Duncan  introduced  innocent  games  to  keep 
them  from  the  more  deleterious  games  of 
gambling,  to  which  they  had  habituated  them 
selves.  He  introduced  trades  and  encouraged 
them  to  hunt  and  fish,  and  gather  berries,  and 
planned  for  the  sale,  by  exporting  their  vari 
ous  products  of  furs,  fish,  etc. 

It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  he  could 
change  their  former  customs  and  habits,  as 
they  clung  to  them  with  great  tenacity.  He 
freed  all  slaves  that  he  could  reach  ;  many 
fugitives  came  to  Metlakahtla,  and  he  kept 
them  until  they  could  be  restored  to  the  orig 
inal  tribes  from  which  they  came  ;  this  was  as 
terrible  a  crime  in  the  eyes  of  the  old  chiefs, 
as  the  harboring  of  slaves  by  the  abolitionists 
in  this  country  before  the  war,  in  the  eyes  of 
those  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  His 
life  was  often  in  danger,  but  he  was  supported 
in  his  work  by  his  followers.  Slavery  still 
exists  in  Alaska  and  British  Columbia,  but  I 
have  no  doubt  to  a  limited  extent  among  the 
inland  tribes,  owing  to  Mr.  Duncan's  humane 
work  offering  an  asylum  for  slaves  from  all 
parts  of  the  Indian  settlements  in  the  north 
west. 

The  hostility  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
agents  to  Mr.  Duncan  was  great,  on  account 


1 66     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

of  his  buying  his  own  vessel  to  transport  the 
products  of  his  settlement ;  he  did  this  to 
prevent  imposition  and  extortion,  and  his  in 
troduction  of  the  trades  and  industries  of 
civilization  interfered  with  that  company's 
monopoly.  All  the  coast  traders  lost  no 
opportunity  to  traduce  him,  charging  that  his 
mission  was  simply  a  private  money-making 
scheme  ;  the  slave  traders  and  Shamans  and 
chiefs  were  alarmed  to  see  the  success  of  Mr. 
Duncan's  civilizing  efforts  upon  the  Indians, 
as  it  was  destroying  their  power  and  influence 
over  them,  and  all  were  sworn  enemies,  using 
every  means  to  overthrow,  his  mission. 

His  heroic  conduct  in  treating  the  small 
pox,  which  broke  out  among  the  Indians  with 
fearful  ravages,  destroying  thousands  of  lives, 
added  greatly  to  his  influence  ;  he  vaccinated 
all  who  came  to  him,  and  only  five  Tsimshe- 
ans  who  came  with  him  to  Fort  Simson  died, 
and  these  took  the  plague  while  caring  for 
outside  sufferers.  The  Indians  were  so  de 
moralized  at  its  terrible  ravages,  that  trade 
and  all  avocations  among  the  tribes  were  sus 
pended  ;  he  did  all  he  could  to  relieve  them, 
far  and  near  ;  great  numbers  came  to  him  for 
aid,  and  as  far  as  he  could  he  ministered  to 
them,  guarding  the  safety  and  welfare  of  his 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      167 

own  people  ;  all  this  gave  him  great  favor 
with  the  Indians. 

He  fought  all  adverse  influences  single- 
handed  in  this  community  of  half-enlightened 
savages.  On  the  first  voyage  of  the  vessel  to 
Victoria,  Mr.  Duncan  could  not  get  a  pilot,  so 
he  navigated  the  vessel  himself.  The  Indians 
had  contributed  something  towards  its  pur 
chase,  and  at  the  end  of  a  few  months  a  hand 
some  dividend  was  paid  on  each  share  ;  his 
own  share  of  the  profit  he  devoted  to  the  ob 
jects  of  his  mission. 

He  established  a  store  on  the  co-operative 
plan,  in  which  each  villager  was  a  stock 
holder  of  at  least  one  share.  They  were  as 
tonished  when  they  found  that  their  invest 
ment  of  ten  blankets  had  increased  to  eleven. 
This  was  a  new  revelation.  Formerly,  in 
storing  up  their  furs  and  blankets  in  their 
own  huts,  they  became  injured  and  de 
preciated  by  mildew  and  insects. 

Prosperity  began  to  smile  upon  this  Ar 
cadian  community.  Mr.  Duncan,  with  his 
wonderful  zeal  and  great  energy,  conquered 
in  spite  of  the  many  obstacles  which 
threatened  his  progress.  As  they  began  to 
show  signs  of  development,  he  delivered  sim 
ple  lectures,  illustrated  by  maps  and  a  stere- 


1 68     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

opticon,  on  history,  geography,  astronomy, 
morals,  etc.  He  seems  to  have  had  the  power 
to  wield  successfully  the  influence  of  pastor, 
ruler,  and  every  other  calling  that  was  neces 
sary  to  instruct  and  civilize  the  Indians. 

At  one  of  the  elections  for  village  council- 
men  an  incident  occurred  which  would  be 
amusing  to  some  of  our  politicians.  "The 
ballot  in  favor  of  a  candidate  must  be  unani 
mous,  in  order  to  secure  election.  On  one 
occasion  a  black  ball  was  cast,  and  as  the 
nominee  enjoyed  an  excellent  reputation,  Mr. 
Duncan  gave  out  that  he  would  like  to  see  the 
dissenter  privately.  Early  the  next  morning 
the  individual  called  and  complained,  that  on 
a  certain  day  the  candidate  had  been  given 
one  dollar  too  much  in  making  change  at  a 
store,  and  had  asked  him  if  he  ought  to  keep 
it.  "He  ought  to  know  himself  that  he 
ought  to  be  honest,  withont  asking  me,  that 
is  why  I  thought  he  ought  not  to  be  a  council 
man."  The  severest  form  of  punishment  was 
public  whipping  for  the  crime  of  threatening 
or  attempting  bloodshed,  and  which  occurred 
only  four  or  five  times.  They  were  naturaily 
so  proud  and  vain,  that  they  considered  it  a 
great  disgrace. 

In  dealing  with  some  offences,  a  black  flag 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alas'  a.      169 

was  hoisted  over  the  prison.  The  people 
would  inquire  of  each  other,  "  who  is  the  of 
fender?"  When  it  was  known,  public  opin 
ion  made  it  sjo  warm  for  him,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  reform  or  leave  the  village. 

To  keep  up  their  growth  in  civilization,  the 
old  houses  were  pulled  down,  and  new  and 
better  ones  erected.  The  cost  of  the  new 
houses  was  beyond  their  means,  and  Mr. 
Duncan  promised  to  assist  them  for  each 
house,  sixty  dollars  in  lumber.  A  new  church, 
holding  one  thousand  two  hundred  people,  a 
town  hall,  dispensary,  reading  room,  market 
house,  blacksmith,  carpenter,  cooper  and  tin 
shops,  work  sheds  and  soap  factory  were 
built,  and  a  sea-wall  to  protect  the  village, 
water  power  and  saw  mills  were  erected. 
An  old  Indian  who  heard  that  Mr.  Duncan 
intended  to  make  water  saw  wood,  said,  "  If 
it  is  true  that  Mr.  Duncan  can  make  water 
saw  wood,  I  will  see  it  and  then  die." 

Mr.  Duncan  used  the  profits  from  various 
investments,  received  assistance  from  friends, 
and  used  his  own  private  funds.  He  visited 
England  in  1870,  and  procured  machinery, 
and  learned  various  trades,  such  as  weaving, 
wire  pulling,  twine  spinning,  brush  making, 
etc.  He  also  learned  the  gamut  of  several 


i yo     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

musical  instruments,  and  on  his  return  to 
Metakahtla,  organized  a  brass  band  of 
twenty-one  instruments,  which  gained  great 
renown  on  the  coast  ;  an  organ  was  also 
placed  in  the  church. 

On  his  return  he  was  received  with  all 
pomp  and  honor,  as  if  he  had  been  a  king. 
His  account  was  exceedingly  graphic  and  in 
teresting.  They  assured  him  that  they  had 
constantly  prayed  for  his  safe  return,  and  now 
God  had  answered  their  prayers  and  revived 
their  hearts  after  much  weeping.  Many  sat 
up  all  night  with  him  talking  over  what  had 
happened.  What  a  contrast  between  this  and 
his  reception  in  1857  ;  then  they  were  all 
superstitiously  afraid  of  him. 

Such  a  grand  success  and  change  at  Met- 
lakahtla  had  its  influence  upon  other  tribes  far 
into  the  interior,  and  up  and  down  the  coast. 
A  number  of  chiefs  had  been  converted,  some 
of  them  the  most  fierce  barbarians,  and  Se- 
gair,  a  leader  of  the  cannibal  feast  which  Mr. 
Duncan  witnessed  on  his  first  arrival,  and 

who  boasted  of   the  number  of  lives   he  had 

• 

taken,  was  "  at  length  humbled  and  led  like 
a  lamb."  He,  at  one  time,  tried  to  assassin 
ate  Mr.  Duncan.  He  became  a  cabinet  maker 
and  carpenter,  and  a  truly  exemplary  Chris- 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      171 

tian.  The  Indians  from  Metlakahtla  went 
out  among  all  the  tribes  in  all  that  region  at 
their  own  expense,  and  taught  them  in  simple, 
figurative  language.  Here  is  a  sample  of 
their  method  : 

"  Brothers,  sisters,  you  know  the  way  of 
the  eagle?  The  eagle  flies  high,  and  the 
eagle  rests  high.  He  rests  on  the  highest 
branch  of  the  highest  tree,  then  he  is  free 
from  fear  of  all  beneath  him.  Brothers,  sis 
ters,  Jesus  to  us  is  the  highest  branch  of  the 
highest  tree.  Let  us  rest  on  him,  then.  We, 
too,  need  not  fear,  all  our  enemies  beneath 
us." 

The  whole  coast,  both  Indians  and  white, 
heard  of  the  wonderful  change,  and  flocked 
to  the  village  to  trade,  and  see  the  almost 
marvelous  transformation. 

The  Chilkat  Indians,  whom  we  visited  in 
Alaska,  have  the  reputation  of  being  a  fierce 
and  bloodthirsty  tribe,  and  who  live  five  or 
six  hundred  miles  from  Metlakahtla,  visited 
them,  arraying  themselves  in  all  their  mag 
nificence  of  barabaric  finery,  so  as  to  impress 
the  people  with  their  greatness  and  import 
ance.  They  were  astonished  at  the  sight  of 
the  buildings,  and  of  their  thrift,  so  much 
like  the  white  people  of  Victoria.  They 


172     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

wanted  to  see  the  man  who  was  chief  and 
manager  of  the  village,  who  had  wrought 
such  wonders. 

Mr.  Duncan  came  to  them  with  his  com 
mon  working  clothes  on  ;  they  pretended 
that  they  could  not  see  him,  and  looked  over 
and  beyond  him  ;  they  preserved  their  coun 
tenances  in  solid  rigor  to  maintain  their  great 
dignity,  never  uttering  a  word,  save  the  cere 
monies  of  a  formal  greeting.  He  conducted 
them  to  his  house,  and  gave  them  the  place 
of  honor  for  distinguished  guests  ;  they  con 
tinned  to  look  at  him  in  utter  silence  for  some 
time,  and  finally  broke  out  :  "  Surely,  you 
cannot  be  the  man  !  Why,  you  are  a  little 
man,  and  we  expected  to  see  a  great  and 
powerful  giant,  gifted  in  magic,  with  enor 
mous  eyes,  that  could  look  right  through  us 
and  read  our  thoughts  !  No  ;  it  is  impossi 
ble  !  How  could  you  tame  the  wild  and 
ferocious  Tsimsheans,  who  were  always 
waging  war,  and  were  feared  throughout  the 
whole  coast?  They  tell  us  you  have  God's 
book,  and  you  have  taught  them  to  read  it  ; 
we  want  to  see  it." 

Upon  the  Bible  being  placed  before  them, 
and  on  being  told  that  it  was  by  following 
the  teachings  of  this  book  that  the  Metla- 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      173 


kahtlans  had  become  enlightened,  each  one 
touched  it  reverently  with  the  tip  of  his 
finger,  and  said,  "  ahm,  ahm,"  it  is  good,  it  is 
good.  After  remaining  several  days,  seeing 
the  wonderful  village,  trading,  etc.,  they  re 
turned,  impressed  very  much,  no  doubt,  with 
the  things  they  had  seen. 

The  influence  of  these  Christian  Indians 
for  good  has  been  very  great  on  our  Alaskan 
tribes.  While  our  soldiers  were  at  Fort 
Wrangell  some  of  these  Metlakahtlans  were 
employed  as  laborers.  They  were  sober, 
Sabbath-keeping  Indians,  and  through  their 
influence  a  considerable  number  of  the 
Stickeens,  at  that  place,  were  led  to  Christ 
before  Mrs.  McFarland,  our  first  missionary 
teacher,  reached  Alaska.  They  became  mem 
bers  of  the  first  church  organized  there 
under  the  successful  labors  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Young.  Phillip,  the  first  native  teacher  and 
interpreter,  and  Mrs.  Dickinson,  also  an  in 
terpreter,  were  both  educated  at  Metlakahtla. 

One  Sabbath  morning,  soon  after  the 
church  was  organized,  as  the  people  were 
gathering  for  public  worship,  five  stalwart- 
looking  Indians,  clad  in  army  blue,  and  each 
with  a  water-proof  on  his  arm,  walked  into 
the  chapel,  and  reverently  worshipped  God 


174     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


there,  although  it  afterward  appeared  that 
they  could  not  understand  the  dialect  used  in 
the  services.  They  proved  to  be  Metlakahtla 
Indians,  who  had  been  carrying  goods  up  the 
Stickeen  River  to  the  Cassar  mines.  On  their 
return,  Saturday  night  overtook  them  at 
Fort  Wrangell,  and,  true  to  their  principles, 
'they  fastened  their  boats  to  the  shore,  and 
kept  the  Sabbath.  Monday  morning  they 
went  their  way  homeward.  But  such  an 
object  lesson  could  not  fail  to  have  an  in 
fluence  on  the  ruder  and  less  Christianized 
race,  for  they  have  influenced  for  good  all  the 
tribes  with  which  they  have  come  in  contact. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      175 


IX. 


A    REVIEW    OF    MISSION    WORK    IN    ALASKA. 
THE    CLOSE. 

MR.  DUNCAN  was  inspired  to  dedicate 
himself  to  this  great  work  of  civilizing 
these  people  on  account  of  a  graphic  portrayal 
of  the  barbarous  degradation  of  the  Tsim- 
shean  savages,  in  Admiral  Preroth's  narrative. 
After  twenty-five  years  absence,  the  Admiral 
says  :  "  God  has  brought  me  back  again, 
amidst  all  the  sundry  and  manifold  changes 
of  the  world,  face  to  face  with  these  tribes, 
amongst  whom  I  have  witnessed  only  blood 
shed,  cannibalism  and  heathen  deviltry  in  its 
grossest  form  ;  now  they  are  sitting  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus,  clothed  and  in  their  right  mind. 
The  very  church  warden,  dear  old  Peter 
Simpson,  who  opened  the  church  door  for 
me,  was  the  chief  of  one  of  the  cannibal 
tribes." 

"  Mr.   Duncan  began    his   work,"    says  Mr. 
Welcome,  "  by  first  mastering  the  tongue  and 


176     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 

then  studying,  in  their  own  homes,  the  minds 
and  inner  life,  the  habits  and  customs  of  these 
painted,  half-naked  savages,  as  at  night  they 
clustered  around  their  hearth-stones,  the  blaz 
ing  fire  casting  a  weird  glow  over  their 
swarthy  faces.  He  learned  from  them  their 
ideas  of  the  creation,  of  the  mystery  of  death, 
their  religious  superstitions,  their  history  as 
told  in  legends  ;  in  short,  he  studied  them 
and  their  capacities,  as  a  student  studies  the 
relative  equivalents  of  the  elements  in  chem 
istry  ;  as  a  Samaritan  to  their  sick  ;  as  a  peace 
maker  when  fierce  passions  stirred  strife  ;  as 
a  comforter  in  their  hours  of  trouble  and  woe, 
he  not  only  won  their  affection  and  confi 
dence,  but  he  also  implanted  in  their  hearts 
the  germs  of  good  will  and  forbearance 
towards  each  other  ;  he  exemplified  and  up 
held  by  his  own  pure  life  those  true  princi 
ples  of  morality  that  stand  the  crucial  test  of 
the  ever  suspicious  scrutiny  of  the  savage." 

He  dispensed  with  everything  in  the  way  of 
form  or  ceremony  that  would  distract  their  at 
tention  and  taught  them  the  simple  truths  of 
the  Christian  religion.  Some  one  says,  "  the  first 
step  towards  teaching  a  savage  is  to  feed  him  ; 
the  stomach  being  satisfied,  he  will  listen  to 
instruction,  not  before."  Mr.  Duncan  grasped 


/''; oin    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.       177 

intelligently  the  true  science  of  civilization  ; 
he  learned  the  insistent  needs  and  pliant  ca 
pacities  of  the  savages  ;  we  have  seen  how 
effectively  he  provided  for  these  needs,  and 
trained  these  capacities. 

In  1881,  after  Mr.  Duncan's  wonderful  suc 
cess,  he  met  with  great  persecution  from 
those  who  naturally  should  have  been  his 
warm  friends  and  supporters  ;  he  was  only  a 
layman,  and  would  not  take  Church  of  Eng 
land  orders ;  his  answer  to  the  Bishop  of  Co 
lumbia,  who  urged  him,  was,  "  that  he  feared 
that  church  orders  would  prove  to  him,  what 
Saul's  armor  was  to  David,  only  an  incum- 
brance,  and  therefore  he  preferred  the  stone 
and  the  sling." 

Though  Metlakahtla  might  rightly  be  con 
sidered  Mr.  Duncan's  own  particular  domain, 
and  the  Indians  have  proved  their  apprecia 
tion  of  his  faithful,  unselfish  labors  by  a  love 
and  devotion  rare  in  such  races,  his  plainest 
rights  have  been  invaded  and  an  effort  made 
to  drive  him  from  his  field  of  labor,  and  di 
vide  and  distract  his  followers. 

The  Indians  of  British  Columbia,  without 
conquest,  treaty  or  compensation,  are  declared 
to  have  no  rights  in  the  land  which  has  been 
occupied  for  centuries  by  them  or  their  an- 


178     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


cestors,  and  this,  their  land,  is  now  claimed 
to  be  the  property  of  the  Queen,  while  these 
"ancient  children  of  the  soil"  are  driven 
from  their  homes  to  seek  others  in  Alaska, 
under  the  United  States  Government. 

The  United  States  have  great  reason  to  feel 
humiliated  by  the  history  of  their  treatment 
of  the  iiborigines,  but  the  one  principle,  which 
is  also  recognized  by  Great  Britain,  has  at  ail 
times  prevailed  and  been  maintained,  namely, 
that  the  Indian  has  the  right  of  possession 
which  can  only  be  taken  from  him  by  conquest, 
or  obtained  through  treaty  or  compensation. 
But  the  Canadian  Government  seems  to  have 
wrested  the  land  and  homes  from  these 
Indians  because  they  have  not  the  power  to 
resist,  which  is  not  one  whit  better  than  high 
way  robbery. 

Alaska  is  only  thirty  miles  distant  from 
Metlakahtla  ;  Mr.  Duncan  was  delegated  to 
visit  Washington  and  lay  the  case  before  the 
United  States  Government,  and  ask  certain 
privileges  and  encouragement  for  them  to 
move  into  Alaska  ;  every  encouragement  that 
was  consistent  with  international  courtesy, 
was  given  Mr.  Duncan  by  the  authorities,  and 
he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury,  dated  February  9,  1887  : 


I1' tit  111    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      179 


"  Sir  :— 

u  I  have  the  honor  to  address  you  on  behalf 
of  a  community  of  Tsimshean  Indians,  num 
bering  about  one  thousand  souls,  now  located 
at  Metlakahtla,  British  Columbia,  near  the 
border  of  Alaska,  and  in  whose  interests  I 
have  been  deputed  to  visit  Washington. 

"  This  people  for  twenty  years  have  been 
struggling  their  way  to  civilized  life,  and 
their  substantial  progress  has  won  for  them 
the  admiration  of  all  who  have  visited  their 
settlement. 

"  Of  late  years,  however,  their  prosperity 
has  been  cruelly  arrested  by  the  untoward 
action  of  the  Provincial  Government  in  refer 
ence  to  the  land  question.  It  would  seem 
that  British  Columbia  has  assumed  that  the 
Indians  have  no  rights  in  the  land,  and  a  land 
policy  has  been  adopted  there  altogether 
foreign  to  the  edicts  and  usages  which  have 
been  followed  in  all  other  parts  of  Canada. 

"The  Indians,  thus  wronged,  are  driven 
almost  to  desperation,  but  rather  than  pro 
ceed  to  hostilities,  they  have  decided  to  aban 
don  their  homes  and  seek  protection  under 
the  American  flag.  They  are  looking  anx 
iously  to  this  country  for  sympathy,  and  for 
permission  to  build  themselves  a  village  in 


i8o     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


Alaska.  The  losses  involved  in  such  removal, 
to  such  a  poor  people,  are  very  appalling, 
hence  the  burden  of  my  letter,  which  is,  that 
if  you  can,  by  any  lawful  means,  permit  them 
to  take  into  Alaska  their  belongings,  free  of 
duty,  you  will  confer  a  great  favor  upon  a  de 
serving  and  suffering  community. 
"  I  have,  etc  , 

"  W.  DUNCAN." 

Governor  Swinford,  of  Alaska,  indorsed 
the  request.  The  removal  of  these  civilized 
and  largely  educated  Indians  into  Alaska  will 
not  only  add  a  number  of  industrial  enter 
prises,  but  will  have  a  very  beneficial  effect 
upon  the  natives  of  that  territory  ;  they  will 
make  good  industrious  citizens,  whose  influ 
ence  upon  the  native  tribes  of  Alaska  will  go 
far  toward  their  complete  civilization. 

Dr.  Jackson,  United  States  Agent  of  Edu 
cation  in  Alaska,  says  :  "  A  few  years  ago 
Congress  was  ready  to  vote  a  large  sum  of 
money  to  encourage  a  colony  of  Icelanders 
to  remove  to  Alaska.  Surely  the  Govern 
ment  can  afford  to  help  these  people  who  ask 
no  money  help.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  granted  the  request  of  Mr.  Duncan, 
relative  to  free  entry  of  all  articles  belong 
ing  to  such  Indians,  except  such  as  mav  be 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      181 

found  to  consist  of  merchandise,  imported 
and  intended  as  such  for  sale.  All  lands  in 
Alaska  being  public  domain,  the  Govern 
ment  cannot  set  apart  any  reservation  in 
Alaska,  and  the  land  there  can  only  be  dealt 
with  by  Congress.  But  the  Metlakahtlans 
might  move  into  Alaska,  and  settle  upon  un 
occupied  land,  reporting  the  occupancy  to 
the  department,  and  ample  provision  will  be 
made  to  meet  the  necessities  of  law-abiding 
inhabitants." 

Mr.  Duncan,  therefore,  with  the  Metlakaht- 
lan  Indians,  left  their  homes,  with  all  their 
industries,  and  moved  into  Alaska,  settling  at 
Port  Chester,  Annette  Island,  where  he  has 
founded  the  new  town  of  Metlakahtla,  and  it 
is  being  rapidly  built. 

The  English  people  clogged  the  departure 
of  the  Indians  in  every  way  ;  Senator  Vest, 
who  visited  them  last  summer,  found  their 
canoes  on  the  shore,  and  the  Indians  ready 
to  sail  ;  the  ecclesiastics  seized  their  store 
and  workshop  ;  they  stole  from  them  eight 
thousand  feet  of  lumber,  and  they  had  white 
men  under  arms  ready  to  fire  on  the  Indians 
if  they  attempted  to  bring  away  the  build 
ings  which  they  themselves  had  made.  The 
poor  savages  were  almost  afraid  to  take  away 


1 82     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


their  personal  property,  but  they  bore  as 
Christians  what  these  fanatics  put  upon 
them.  There  are  now  about  one  thousand  or 
more  of  them  in  Alaska.  They  are  clearing 
the  forest,  and  have  built  a  line  of  houses 
nearly  a  mile  long  among  the  big  trees  on 
the  shore.  They  have  put  up  a  steam  saw 
mill,  and  have  built  a  salmon  cannery  one 
hundred  feet  long  and  thirty-four  feet  wide. 
They  are  going  to  put  up  a  big  general 
house,  and  they  hope  to  extend  their  civilizing 
work  to  other  Alaskan  tribes. 

They  are  a  valuable  addition  to  our  people 
in  Alaska,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  Uncle 
Sam  will  give  them  a  good  title  to  their  new 
home.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  this 
new  move  for  liberty  of  worship  will  prove  as 
successful  on  a  small  scale  as  that  of  the  Pil 
grim  Fathers. 

At  first  they  were  not  contented,  they 
feared  being  shut  off  from  fishing  in  British 
waters,  and  being  excluded  from  Victoria, 
their  most  accessible'  market,  by  the  customs 
tariff.  It  remains  to  be  seen  how  much  they 
are  willing  to  sacrifice  for  liberty. 

The  passage  of  Senator  Dawes's  "  Severalty 
Bill  "  gives  hope  of  a  new  era  in  the  treat 
ment  of  the  Indians  in  the  United  States. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      183 


The  President  has  appointed  commissioners 
under  the  bill,  and  the  process  of  allotment 
has  already  begun.  The  work  of  civilization 
and  education  has  not,  however,  kept  pace 
with  the  work  of  allotment.  The  friends  of 
the  Indians  are  divided  in  opinion  ;  one  party 
wanting  guardians,  or  receivers,  appointed 
to  take  care  of  his  property,  who  shall  be 
amenable  to  the  courts,  like  other  guardians; 
the  other,  that  of  creating  a  non-partisan  com 
mission,  who  shall  take  charge  of  all  Indian 
tribes  during  the  period  of  transition  from  the 
icservationsystemtothatof  Indian  civilization. 
We  think  we  have  demonstrated  what  has 
been  done  by  one  individual  with  the 
Tsimshean  Indians,  and  what  can  be  done 
with  our  Indian  tribes,  with  teachers  em 
ployed  who  are  devoted  and  self-sacrificing 
in  their  work.  The  Government,  we  learned, 
has  a  sort  of  contract  system  with  the  Pres 
byterian  Missions  in  Alaska,  to  give  a  certain 
amount  towards  educating  the  Indians  ;  and 
also  in  other  sections,  a  sort  of  partnership 
with  different  religious  organizations,  which 
has  created  a  good  deal  of  denominational 
jealousy,  on  account  of  so  large  a  proportion 
of  Indian  education  drifting  into  the  hands 
of  the  Roman  Catholics. 


184     From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


The  Indian  agents  appointed  by  the  Gov 
ernment  are  not  working  in  harmony  with 
the  teachers  of  the  Indian  schools,  and  in 
some  cases  at  cross-purposes.  We  have  some 
evidences  of  the  same  jealousy  existing  in 
our  own  country,  as  in  the  case  we  have  been 
considering. 

It  becomes  us,  as  American  citizens,  to 
study  the  Indian  problem,  of  which  we  read 
so  much.  What  is  this  problem?  The 
"  Christian  Union  "  answers  the  query  thus  : 
"  It  is  the  question  how  Indians  shall  be 
brought  to  a  condition  of  self-support,  and  of 
equal  rights  before  the  law,  in  which  they 
will  no  longer  require  the  special  protection 
and  control  of  the  Government.  It  is  im 
portant  for  the  white  people  of  our  country 
that  the  Indians  should  have  a  fair  chance, 
should  be  improved  and  civilized.  If  the  in 
ferior  race  is  not  instructed  and  elevated,  it 
will  be  pauperized  and  debased.  Whenever 
this  is  the  fate  of  an  Indian  tribe,  its  women 
will  be  an  everlasting  curse  to  the  young 
white  men,  and  to  the  homes  of  the  white 
people.  Perhaps  apart  of  the  retribution  for 
our  national  wrong  and  injustice  to  the  In 
dians  may  come  upon  us  in  that  way." 

We  have  had   the   pleasure  of  drinking  in 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.      185 

the  picturesque  scenery  of  Switzerland, 
Scandinavia,  and  as  far  north  as  North 
Cape,  with  all  the  glories  and  giandeur  of 
the  fjords,  glaciers  and  mountains  of  Norway 
and  the  midnight  sun.  Through  the  country 
of  the  Tyrol,  and  almost  every  country  of 
Europe,  although  so  enjoying  the  grand  and 
overpowering  views  of  our  own  Yosemite 
Valley,  with  mountains  and  water-fails,  can 
ons  and  lakes  of  the  Yellowstone  Park,  but 
where  in  the  wide  world  can  you  see,  for  two 
thousand  miles,  such  a  grand  panorama  of 
all  that  you  can  see  in  the  above  places? 
which  daily  and  hourly  is  unrolled  to  your 
view,  from  the  time  you  leave  Port  Townsend, 
on  Puget  Sound,  across  the  Straits  of  Fuca 
to  Victoria,  British  Columbia,  passing  Van 
couver's  Island,  hrough  the  Gulf  of  Georgia, 
Queen  Charlotte's  Sound  and  numerous  is 
lands,  sounds,  inlets,  etc.,  passing  Princess 
Royal  Island  and  San  Juan  Island  on  the 
right.  These  islands  came  near  causing  a 
war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  in  1856,  but  an  arbitration  was  ac 
cepted,  with  Kaiser  William,  of  Germany,  as 
arbitrator,  and  he  decided  in  favor  of  the 
United  States. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  Alaska  and   its 


1 86      From   Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


wonderful  scenery.  One  must  go  himself  and 
witness  on  what  an  immense  and  massive 
scale  everything  appears.  Words  fail  to  ex 
press  what  one  sees  as  one  sails  among  the 
ten  thousand  islands,  numerous  glaciers  and 
great  mountains,  with  beautiful  bays,  inlets, 
rivers,  lakes,  sounds  and  the  verdure  of  trees 
as  they  bend  down  to  the  water's  edge,  re 
flecting  their  beauty  in  the  clear  water. 
When  we  see  what  God  has  done  for  this  great 
country  of  ours,  for  its  material  interests,  and, 
last,  though  not  least,  created  for  us  the 
grandest  natural  scenery  in  the  wide  world, 
and  given  us  an  opportunity  to  gaze  upon 
His  wonderful  works  and  drink  in  the  health- 
giving  breezes  from  mountains  and  ocean, 
why  should  we  not  turn  our  thoughts  to  the 
great  Author  of  all  things  and  worship  Him 
and  serve  Him  more  devoutly  than  ever  ? 


APPENDIX. 
NOTE. 

ALASKA     MISSION     WORK. 

Mr.  Duncan,  the  missionary  layman,  writes  from  Metlakahtla, 
their  new  home  in  Alaska,  hopefully,  although  they  have  been 
quite  unfortunate.  He  says,  "We  speak  plainly  of  the  treatment 
we  have  received  from  the  Government  of  British  Columbia  and 
Canada,  and  the  Church  Missionary  Society  of  London,  England, 
which  together  have  eventuated  in  our  leaving  our  old  settlement 
and  migrating  to  Alaska."  Mr.  Duncan  gives  an  account  of  "  A 
Day  at  Metlakahtla,"  which  is  full  of  interest : 

"  Having  twenty-two  men  employed,  I  began  the  duties  of  the 
day  by  going  to  look  after  them.  I  found  waterproof  coats  doffed, 
and  everybody  outside  seemed  brisk  and  busy.  Before  I  had  fin 
ished  my  inspection,  I  was  summoned  to  breakfast ;  but  I  told  the 
cook  to  ask  Dr.  Bluett  not  to  wait  for  me.  Having  finished  my 
work  outside.  I  took  a  hasty  meal.  Then  the  school-bell  rang,  and 
quickly  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  children,  all  with  happy  faces, 
took  their  places  in  school.  (I  should  note  here  that  thirty-five  of  our 
youths  have  been  taken  to  the  Industrial  Training  School  at  Sitka, 
about  250  miles  north  of  this).  We  commenced  school  as  usual,  by 
singing  a  verse  of  the  good  old  hymn,  *  Guide  me,  O  Thou  Great 
Jehovah.'  Prayer  followed,  and  then  the  scripture  lesson— the 
subject  this  morning  being  the  meeting  of  Jacob  and  Esau.  The 
children  then  marched  to  their  classes,  seven  in  number,  the  sexes 
being  divided,  with  the  exception  of  the  first  class.  I  have  three 
native  assistants,  and  we  go  to  work  at  what  is  called  the  three 
R's,  and  soon  the  usual  hum  of  school  sets  in.  We  teach  the  chil 
dren  to  read  and  write  in  English,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  the  lessons 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


furnished  in  the  primary  reading  books  are  generally  very  unsuit 
able  for  Indian  children,  having  too  much  nonsense  about  cats 
owning  tails,  and  dogs  being  able  to  bark,  and  so  forth  ;  all  such 
information  appearing  very  ridiculous  to  the  Indian  aspirant 
after  learning,  when  translated  into  his  mother  tongue.  This  morn 
ing  the  reading  lesson  in  one  class  was  exceptionally  good  ;  it  was 
the  fable  of  the  dog  and  the  shadow.  After  reading  the  lesson,  the 
children  were  asked  to  write  on  their  slates  what  they  thought  was 
the  lesson  the  fable  teaches  us.  One  boy  wrote,  '  When  people  let 
fall  the  truth  they  find  nothing.' 

"  We  have  no  fire  in  our  school,  and  the  building  we  are  tempor 
arily  using  is  so  drafty,  that  if  king  Alfred  with  his  candle  clock  oc 
cupied  it,  he  would  be  obliged  to  use  curtains  to  keep  the  flame 
steady.  I  therefore  gave  the  children  ten  minutes'  recess  to  warm 
themselves  by  a  scamper  on  the  beach.  The  lively  scene  which 
ensued  would  take  too  long  to  describe.  I  suppose  this  is  the  only 
school  in  Alaska  where  there  is  no  fire,  yet  I  doubt  very  much 
whether  there  be  such  another  healthy  community  of  children  in 
any  part  of  the  territory  as  ours  is.  Time  being  up,  lessons  re 
commence.  At  the  end  of  the  three  school  hours,  the  children 
seem  glad  to  get  their  freedom.  The  boys  rush  to  secure  their 
wonted  places  for  their  favorite  game  of  marbles,  and  so  fascinated 
are  they  with  this  game,  that  they  seem  to  forget  they  need  any 
food  before  returning  to  school.  On  several  occasions  I  have 
caught  them  playing  in  pouring  rain,  and  twice  lately  I  saw  them 
playing  on  the  road  by  the  light  of  a  lantern.  I  see  that  an  Indian 
boy  is  as  proud  of  his  bag  of  marbles  as  a  white  boy  is. 

"  A  little  pleasant  excitement  was  caused  in  the  village  this  morn 
ing  by  two  men — employed  by  our  musicians — setting  to  work  to 
fell  a  huge  and  noble-looking  pine.  The  stir  was  due  to  the  diffi 
culty  of  the  undertaking.  The  tree  had  to  be  cut  about  twenty- 
four  feet  from  the  ground,  and  made  to  fall  in  a  certain  direction, 
to  avoid  crushing  the  houses  near  to  it.  The  men  performed  their 
work  admirably,  and  were  so  elated  with  their  success  that  they 
nailed  a  pole  on  the  top  of  the  stump  with  four  small  American 
flags  attached  to  it.  The  twenty-four  feet  of  the  trunk  left  stand 
ing  is  to  form  the  base  for  a  stand  on  which  the  Brass  Band  will  be 
mounted  to  greet  our  friends,  or  any  Government  officials  when 
they  come  to  see  us. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        in 

"  In  the  afternoon  I  went  to  our  steam  saw-mill,  to  talk  over  the 
work  to  be  done,  with  our  native  foreman.  The  men  have  lately 
completed  an  order  for  over  i6,o<x>  cases  from  a  salmon  cannery 
about  thirty  miles  distant.  All  the  work  of  sawing,  planing  and 
stencilling  these  cases  was  done  by  the  natives,  and  done  so  satis 
factorily  that  the  order  given  us  for  another  year  is  nearly  doubled 

"  I  then  stepped  into  a  sash  and  furniture  work-shop,  latelj 
erected  by  two  native  artisans  on  their  own  account.  They  have 
managed  to  bring  into  their  service  a  small  stream  to  turn  the 
wheel  by  which  their  lathe  is  worked.  The  men  were  busy  execu 
ting  an  order  from  a  neighboring  Indian  tribe  for  a  grave  fence. 
I  noticed,  too,  they  had  finished  a  nice-looking  bedstead  of  yellow 
cypress,  which,  I  learn,  forms  part  of  on  order  from  Portland,  Ore 
gon.  My  business  with  them  was  to  tender  the  work  of  making 
me  some  large  windows  and  doors  for  the  new  school  we  are 
erecting— if  we  can  agree  upon  the  terms.  I  left  them  to  think 
over  the  prices,  and  let  me  know  them  to-night. 

"  I  next  walked  to  the  site  on  which  we  are  erecting  our  perma 
nent  school,  and  gave  some  directions  to  the  workmen. 

14  In  the  evening  several  of  the  men  came  to  receive  their  wages, 
and  others  to  pay  their  accounts  for  lumber  obtained  at  the  mill. 

"  After  supper  one  of  our  people  came  to  see  me  privately  about 
a  family  quarrel,  which  he  wished  me  to  help  him  to  settle. 
While,  however,  he  was  telling  his  story,  another  man  walked  in 
to  press  his  complaint  against  a  man  of  a  distant  tribe,  a  Hydah, 
who,  with  his  party,  happened  to  be  here  for  the  purpose  of  trade, 
and  staying  in  the  village  guest-house.  As  it  was  supposed  the  ac 
cused  man  would  be  leaving  our  village  early  the  next  morning,  I 
concluded  to  settle  his  case  first.  Accordingly  I  sent  for  our  native 
constable-who  holds  a  commission  from  the  Government— and 
directed  him  to  go  and  tell  the  stranger  I  wanted  to  see  him,  and 
that  he  might  bring  his  friends  with  him.  As  the  Hydah  and 
Tsimshean  languages  are  totally  unlike,  I  also  sent  for  one  of  our 
people  who  knows  them  both,  to  act  as  interpreter.  In  the  mean 
time  several  persons  dropped  in  to  listen,  and  as  soon  as  the  Hydah 
and  his  friends  arrived,  we  commenced  the  case. 
"  The  affair  was  this :  The  complainant  and  the  accused  had  met 

while  hunting  bears  on  Prince    of  Wales  Island.      The  former 

greeted  the  latter  courteously,  but  his  civility  was  not  reciprocated. 


iv        From   Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


The  Hydah,  both  by  looks  and  words,  and  still  more  particularly 
by  suspiciously  manipulating  his  gun,  showed  signs  of  anger.  The 
complainant  stated  that  he  kept  his  temper,  otherwise  he  felt  sure 
violence  would  have  ensued.  In  defense  the  accused  said  that  the 
complainant,  not  knowing  the  Hydah  language,  had  allowed  his 
fears  to  be  unnecessarily  aroused,  that  the  angry  words  he  used 
were  not  addressed  to  the  complainant,  but  to  the  Hydah  in  com 
pany  with  him  ;  and  as  for  the  way  he  carried  his  gun,  that  was 
explained  by  the  fact  that  he  was  hunting  bears.  As  no  act  of  vio 
lence  had  been  committed,  or  threatening  language  used,  it  only 
remained  for  me  to  caution  and  instruct  the  accused  man,  which  I 
did  very  fully.  I  was  glad  to  find  that  my  words  were  well  re 
ceived.  He  thanked  me,  and  said  he  was  glad  to  hear  good  words 
and  know  the  law,  and  on  his  return  home  he  would  not  fail  to 
tell  his  people  what  he  had  learned.  The  complainant  and  the  ac 
cused  then  shook  hands,  and  went  away  with  the  greater  part  of 
the  audience. 

"  Among  the  few  remaining  was  the  man  who  came  in  first  about 
his  family  quarrel,  and  a  Hydah  (not  from  the  same  village  as  the 
man  I  had  just  dismissed)  who  had  a  trouble  to  tell  me.  He  said  that 
he  had  chosen  a  young  woman  of  the  Thlinket  people  for  a  wife, 
and  both  the  young  woman  and  her  guardian  had  favored  his  suit. 
The  engagement  being  made,  he  went  over  to  her  tribe,  and  had 
already  given  a  month's  labor  to  her  relations  for  their  good  will. 
For  some  reason,  however,  of  which  he  professed  to  be  ignorant, 
her  guardian  had  suddenly  annulled  the  engagement,  and  ordered 
him  to  leave  the  village.  I  promised  to  send  a  message  to  the  per 
sons  concerned  by  the  first  canoe  which  leaves  here,  and  when  I 
have  ascertained  the  facts  on  the  other  side,  I  shall  know  what  to 
advise  in  the  case.  There  are,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  some  old  customs 
still  rife  among  these  tribes  in  regard  to  marriage,  which  are  con 
stantly  producing  trouble.  When  questioned  individually  not  an 
Indian  will  venture  to  defend  them,  and  yet  they  retain  their  hold 
of  the  public  mind.  After  the  Hydah  had  left,  I  addressed  the 
man  who  had  patiently  waited  some  hours  for  a  private  interview 
about  his  family  affairs.  The  remedy  for  his  trouble  was  humility 
and  kindness.  These  I  prescribed  for  him,  and  he  went  away. 

"  I  then  kad  two  foremen  to  talk  with  about  the  morrow's  work. 
After  they  had  left  me  I  took  a  peep  at  the  beautiful  moonlit  sky. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


Soon  I  heard  the  bugle  sounding  in  the  village  the  welcome  '  Go 
to  bed,'  and  then  came  my  quiet  hour  for  reading." 

Our  Government  is  helping  the  work  in  Metlekahtla  by  appro 
priating  a  certain  amount  for  the  schools.  A  sad  disaster  overtook 
them  last  January.  Their  steam  saw-mill,  with  all  its  contents,  was 
destroyed  by  fire  at  a  loss  of  not  less  than  $12,000.  Not  discouraged, 
Mr.  Duncan  made  plans  for  a  new  and  larger  mill,  and  started  at 
once  for  Portland,  Oregon,  to  purchase  the  necessary  machinery. 
He  says,  "  This  may  sound  as  if  I  already  had  the  money  in  hand 
to  meet  the  outlay  with,  but  such  was  not  the  case.  I  felt,  how 
ever,  that  we  must  have  the  mill,  and  doubted  not  that  I  should  be 
able  to  get  extra  time  allowed  to  pay  the  bills."  In  a  little  over 
two  months  the  new  mill  was  erected,  and  was  double  the  capacity 
of  the  old  mill.  Friends  were  found  to"  respond  to  Mr.  Duncan's 
necessities. 

Mr.  Duncan,  by  request,  writes  a  letter  giving  some  explanation 
of  the  peculiar  carving  among  the  natives  of  Alaska,  which  is  very 
interesting  : 

"  I  am  glad  to  learn  from  your  letter  of  28th  of  March,  that  the 
silver  spoons  made  by  our  native  craftsmen  are  appreciated.  In 
answer  to  your  enquiries  respecting  the  maker  and  his  craft,  I  beg 
to  inform  you  that  he  belongs  to  the  Tsim-she-an  nation,  and  his 
name  was  Tsah-am-sheg-ish  (The  power  that  draws  shoreward). 
On  becoming  a  Christian,  some  years  ago,  he  was  named  Abel 
Bafcr.  In  making  tea-spoons,  Abel  tells  me  he  beats  each  one  out 
of  a  silver  dollar  ;  but  for  dessert-spoons,  which  require  a  dollar 
and  a  half,  he  has  to  melt  the  silver  in  a  crucible.  After  hammer- 
jig  the  piece  of  silver  to  the  required  length  and  thickness,  he  then 
forms  the  bowl  of  the  spoon  by  beating  the  plate  into  a  wooden 
mould  of  the  size  and  shape  he  wishes  the  spoon  to  be.  This  done, 
he  files  and  sand-papers  his  work  (originally  the  dried  skin  of  the 
dog-fish  answered  for  this  purpose).  He  then  uses  a  smoothing 
stone,  and  he  finally  polishes  with  a  handful  of  soft  fibre— the  dried 
and' teased  inner  rind  of  cedar  bark.  His  last  operation  is  to  carve 
the  handle. 

"  The  designs  he  cut  on  the  spoons  sent  you  are  peculiar  to  the 
carving  and  painting  of  the  Indians  in  this  country,  and  are  sym 
bolical  of  the  various  crests  or  Totems  (as  they  are  sometimes 
called)  which  seem  to  have  been  adopted  in  far  back  ages  to  dis- 


vi        J<rom    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


tinguish  the  four  social  clans  into  which  each  band  is  subdivided. 
The  names  of  these  four  clans  in  the  Tsimshean  language  are, 
4  Kish-poot-wadda,'  '  Canadda,'  '  Lach-e-boo,'  and  '  Lacksh-keak.' 

"  The  Kish-poot-wadda,  by  far  the  most  numerous  hereabouts, 
are  represented  symbolically  by  the  fin-back  whale  in  the  sea,  the 
grizzly  bear  on  land,  the  grouse  in  the  air,  and  the  sun  and  stars  in 
the  heavens. 

"  The  Canadda  symbols  are  the  frog,  the  raven,  the  star-fish  and 
the  bull-head. 

"  The  Lacheboo  take  the  wolf,  the  heron,  and  the  grizzly  bear, 
for  totems. 

"  The  Lackshkeak  the  eagle,  the  beaver  and  the  halibut. 
"  The  creatures  I  have  just  named  are,  however,  only  regarded  as 
the  visible  representatives  of  the  powerful  and  mystical  beings  or 
Genii  of  Indian  mythology.  And,  as  all  of  one  group,  are  said  to 
be  of  the  same  kindred  ;  so  all  the  members  of  the  same  clan  whose 
heraldic  symbols  are  the  same,  are  counted  as  blood  relations. 
Strange  to  say  this  relationship  holds  good  should  the  persons 
belong  to  different,  or  even  hostile  tribes,  speak  a  totally  different 
language,  or  be  located  thousands  of  miles  apart.  On  being  asked 
to  explain  how  this  notion  of  relationship  originated,  or  why  it  is 
perpetuated  in  the  face  of  so  many  obliterating  circumstances,  the 
Indians  point  back  to  a  remote  age,  when  their  ancestors  lived  in 
a  beautiful  land,  and  where,  in  a  mysterious  manner,  the  mythical 
creatures  whose  symbols  they  retain,  revealed  themselves  to  the 
heads  oi  the  families  of  that  day.  They  then  relate  the  traditional 
story  of  an  overwhelming  flood,  which  came  and  submerged  the 
good  land,  and  spread  death  and  destruction  all  around.  Those  of 
the  ancients  who  escaped  in  canoes,  were  drifted  about  and  scat 
tered  in  every  direction  on  the  face  of  the  waters  ;  and  where  they 
found  themselves  after  the  flood  had  subsided,  there  they  located 
and  formed  new  tribal  associations.  Thus  it  was  that  persons  re 
lated  by  blood  became  widely  severed  from  each  other  ;  neverthe 
less  they  retained  and  clung  to  the  symbols  which  had  distinguished 
them  and  their  respective  families  before  the  flood  ;  and  all  suc 
ceeding  generations  have,  in  this  particular,  sacredly  followed 
suit.  Hence  it  is  that  the  crests  have  continued  to  mark  the  off 
spring  of  the  original  founders  of  each  family. 
"  As  it  may  interest  you  to  know  to  what  practical  uses  the  na- 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.       vn 


lives  apply  their  crests,  I  will  enumerate"  those  which  have  come 
under  my  own  notice  : 

"  First. — As  I  have  previously  mentioned,  crests  subdivide  tribes 
into  social  clans,  and  a  union  of  crest  is  a  closer  bond  than  a  tribal 
union. 

"  Second.— It  is  the  ambition  of  all  leading  members  of  each  clan 
in  the  several  tribes,  to  represent  by  carving  or  painting  their  her 
aldic  symbols  on  all  their  belongings,  not  omitting  even  their  house 
hold  utensils,  as  spoons  and  dishes  ;  and  on  the  death  of  the  head  of 
a  family,  a  totem  pole  is  erected  in  front  of  his  house  by  his  suc 
cessor,  on  which  is  carved  and  painted  more  or  less  elaborately, 
the  symbolic  creatures  of  his  clan  as  they  appear  in  some  mythol 
ogical  tale  or  legend. 

"  Third. — The  crests  define  the  bounds  of  consanguinity,  and  per 
sons  having  the  same  crest  are  forbidden  to  intermarry  ;  that  is, 
a  frog  may  not  marry  a  frog  ;  nor  a  whale  marry  a  whale  ;  but  a 
frog  may  marry  a  wolf,  and  a  whale  may  marry  an  eagle. 

"Among  sons  of  the  Alaskan  tribes,  I  am  told,  the  marriage 
restrictions  are  still  further  narrowed,  and  persons  of  different 
crests  may  not  intermarry  if  the  creatures  of  their  respective  clans 
have  the  same  instincts  ;  thus,  a  Canadda  may  not  marry  a  Lash- 
keak,  because  the  raven  of  the  one  crest  and  the  eagle  of  the  other 
seek  and  devour  the  same  kind  of  food.  Again,  the  Kishpoot- 
wadda  may  not  marry  a  Lacheboo,  because  the  grizzly  bear  and 
wolf  representing  these  crests,  are  both  carnivorous. 

"  Fourth.— All  the  children  take  the  mother's  crest  and  are  incor 
porated  as  members  of  the  mother's  family,  nor  do  they  designate 
or  regard  their  father's  family  as  their  relations.  A  man's  heir 
and  successor,  therefore,  is  not  his  own  son  but  his  sister's  son. 
And  in  the  case  of  a  woman  being  married  into  a  distant  tribe 
away  from  her  relations,  the  offspring  of  such  union  when  grown 
up,  will  leave  their  parents  and  go  to  their  mother's  tribe  and  take 
their  respective  places  in  their  mother's  family.  This  law  accounts 
for  the  great  interest  which  natives  take  in  their  nephews  and 
nieces,  which  seems  to  be  quite  equal  to  the  interest  they  take  in 
their  own  children. 

"  Fifth. — The  clan  relationship  also  regulates  all  feasting.  A 
native  never  invites  the  members  of  his  own  crest  to  a  feast,  they 
being  regarded  as  his  blood  relations  are  always  welcome  as  his 


vin      From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska. 


guests  ;  but  at  feasts  which  are  given  only  for  display,  so  far  from 
being  partakers  of  the  bounty,  all  of  the  clansmen  within  a  reason 
able  distance  are  expected  to  contribute  of  their  means,  and  their 
services  gratuitously,  to  make  the  feast  a  success.  In  the  fame 
of  the  feast  hangs  the  honor  of  the  clan. 

"  Sixth.— What  I  have  just  written  reminds  me  to  add  that  this 
social  brotherhood  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  promoting  hospitality 
among  the  Indians  ;  a  matter  of  immense  importance  in  a  country 
without  hotels  or  restaurants. 

"  A  stranger,  with  or  without  his  family,  in  visiting  an  Indian  vil 
lage,  need  never  be  at  a  loss  for  shelter  ;  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  make 
for  the  house  belonging  to  one  of  his  crest,  and  which  he  can  easily 
distinguish  by  the  totem  pole  in  front  of  it.  There  he  is  sure 
of  a  welcome,  and  of  the  best  the  host  can  afford.  There  he  is 
accounted  a  brother,  and  treated  and  trusted  as  such. 

''  Seventh.-— I  may  mention,  too,  that  the  subdivision  of  the  bands 
into  their  social  clans,  accounts  in  measure  for  the  number  of  potty 
chiefs  existing  in  each  tribe,  as  each  clan  can  boast  of  its  headmen. 
The  more  property  a  clan  can  accumulate  and  give 'away  to  rival 
clans,  the  greater  number  of  headmen  it  may  have. 

4  Eighth. — Another  prominent  use  made  by  the  natives  of  their 
heraldic  symbols  is  that  they  take  names  from  them  for  their  chil 
dren  ;  for  instance,  Wee-nay-ach,  big  fin  (whale).  Lee-tahm-lach- 
taou,  sitting  on  the  ice  (eagle).  Iksh-co-am-alyah,  the  first  speaker 
(raven  in  the  morning).  Athl-kah-kout,  the  howler  traveling 
(wolf). 

44  Ninth. — And  last,  but  not  least,  the  kinship  claimed  and  main 
tained  in  each  tribe  by  the  methods  of  crests,  has  much  to  do  with 
preventing  blood-feuds  ;  and  also  in  restoring  the  peace  when  quar 
rels  and  fightings  have  ensued.  Tribes,  or  sections  thereof,  may 
and  do  fight,  but  members  of  the  same  social  clan  may  not  fight. 
Hence,  in  contests  between  two  tribes,  there  always  remain  in 
each  some  non-combatants,  who  will  watch  the  opportunity  to  in 
terpose  their  offices  in  the  interests  of  peace  and  order.  In  case, 
too,  of  a  marauding  party  being  out  to  secure  slaves,  should  they 
find  one  or  more  of  their  victims  to  be  of  their  own  crest,  such  a 
person  would  be  set  free,  and  be  incorporated  as  a  member  of  their 
family,  while  the  captives  of  other  crests  would  be  held  or  sold  as 
slaves. 


From    Yellowstone  Park  to  Alaska.        ix 


"  In  writing  of  these  matters,  it  must  be  understood  that  I  have 
kept  in  view  the  natives  in  their  primitive  state.  The  Metlakaht- 
lans,  who  are  civilized,  while  retaining  their  crest  distinctions,  and 
upholding  the  good  and  salutary  regulations  connected  therewith, 
have  dropped  all  the  baneful  and  heathenish  rivalry  with  which 
the  clannish  system  was  intimately  associated." 

Mr.  Duncan  has  made  frequent  efforts  to  get  the  Canadian  Gov 
ernment  to  reimburse  the  Indians  who  left  Metlakahtla,  their  old 
home  in  British  Columbia,  for  Alaska,  as  the  Indian  agent  refused 
to  allow  them  to  take  their  buildings  and  other  property  with 
them,  and  allowed  strangers  to  appropriate  the  property  ;  much  is 
now  destroyed  or  stolen.  He  has  assumed  full  control,  and  is  now 
living  with  his  family  in  the  house  Mr.  Duncan  built  out  of  his 
private  means,  after  his  connection  with  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  of  London.  Mr,  Duncan  is  in  correspondence  with  our 
Government,  at  Washington,  upon  the  subject,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  good  man,  who  has  done  so  much  to  civilize  and 
educate  the  poor  Indian,  will  get  his  honest  dues  from  the  Govern 
ment  of  British  Columbia,  which  has  persecuted  and  robbed  him. 

Last  New  Year's  was  celebrated  by  services  in  the  church  at 
Metlakahtla,  praying  the  old  year  out  and  the  new  one  in.  New 
Year's  night  they  had  a  tea  party,  and  after  tea  fourteen  good 
speeches  were  made  by  native  Indians,  all  aiming  to  point  out  the 
way  they  should  go,  and  inciting  each  other  to  courage  amid  their 
misfortunes  and  discouragements. 

We  look  with  great  interest  to  the  result  of  this  grand  work  of 
Mr.  Duncan's. 


WELCH,    ERACKER    COMPANY'S 

Recent  Publications. 


From   "IN   WESTERN  LEVANT 


THE   MASTERPIECE   OF  THE   BOOK-MAKER  S   ART. 


NOW     READY 

In  Western  Levant 


FRANCIS    C .    SESSIONS 

President  of  the   Ohio   Arclueological  and  Historical  Society 


With  over  Fifty  Vignette  Illustrations  by 
HENRY  W.  HALL 

Printed  on  Warren  coated  paper,  title  page  in  colors,  exquisitely 
bound,  with  parchment  label  title,  gilt  top,  etc. 

Author,  artist,  and  designer  have  combined  successfully  to  make 

this  the  most  superb  product  of  exclusively  American  talent 

that  has  yet  been   placed   upon   the   market. 

i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50,  post-paid. 


INTO   MOROCCO 

FROM     7'HE    FRENCH    OF 
PIERRE     LOTI. 


ILLUSTRATED    BY 


Benjamin  Constant  and  Aime  Morot. 
121110,  ciotti,  $1.25. 


EXTRACTS  FROM   THE  PRESS, 

"  The  hit  of  the  year  !  " — State  Journal. 

"  Full  of  color,  picturesqueness  and  charming  descrip 
tion."  From  column  review  in  X.  ] '.  Tribune. 

"  A  famous  book." — Neiu  Orleans  Picayune. 

"  Rising  from  the  perusal  of  these  sparkling  pages,  the 
reader  feels  as  if  under  the  lingering  influence  of  some  wild 
dream," — From  a  three-column  review  in  the  Hartford 
Times. 

"  A  very  clever  and  readable  volume  by  one  of  the  most 
unhackneyed,  entertaining  and  imaginative  of  living 
writers."— A".  1".  Sun. 

"  '  Into  Morocco  '  is  vivid  in  rich  wom-coL»ring,  and  every 
page  charms  w-'th  its  quaint  attractiveness." — San  Fran- 
cisco  Post. 


**  Loti's  account  of  travel  into  the  interior  of  that  country 
by  no  means  lessens  the  feeling  of  mystery,  but  rather  en 
hances  it.  He  seems  to  have  pursued  his  researches  in  a 
sort  of  dream,  and  while  observing  closely  and  describing 
clearly  all  he  saw  and  heard,  yet  conveys  throughout  his 
book  that  same  atmosphere  of  unreality  and  delicious  lan 
guor,  and  one  lays  the  book  down  with  a  sigh  at  having 
completed  its  perusal,  and  with  the  brain  filled  with  visions 
of  white-robed  veiled  figures,  tents,  hot,  sandy  deserts,  and 
long  trains  of  silently  moving  camels.  It  is  an  enchanting 
book,  and  the  picturesque  illustrations  add  not  a  little  to  its 
charms. — Milwaukee  Sentinel. 

"  Only  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  deep  poetic  feel 
ing  and  power  of  description  of  Pierre  Loti,  can  obtain  any 
conception  of  the  character  of  this  book  without  reading  it. 
Readers  who  love  the  romantic,  will  be  delighted  with  the 
book."— Clevela  nd  Leader. 

"  Loti  is,  above  all  else,  a  literary  colorist,  and  the  pic 
tures  are  wonderfully  warm,  sensuous  and  glowing."— 
Chicago  Times. 

"  Mr.  Loti  has  an  artist's  eye  for  the  picturesque. "- 
M iliva ukee  Wisconsin . 

"  Rich  in  quotable  extracts,  for  on  every  page  is  a  pic 
ture  worth  impressing  on  the  memory  for  its  beauty.  It  is 
vivid  and  inspiring. — Chronicle,  San  Francisco. 

"  A  famous  book,  intensely  interesting,  beautifully  illus 
trated." — New  Orleans  Picayune. 

"  Delightful  reading."—  Toledo  Blade. 

"  Sure  of  welcome.  It  is  a  series  of  emotions  deeply  felt, 
exquisitely  translated. "—Boston  Transcript. 

"  Full  of  charm  ;  not  an  effect  is  lost.  We  wish  we  had 
space  to  quote  at  fuller  length  from  this  fascinating  book." 
• — Boston  Literary  World. 

"  One  of  the  most  fascinating  books  of  travel  that  has  ap 
peared  this  year." — The  Writer,  Boston. 

"  A  book  of  sunshine." — Chicago  Herald. 


From   "THE    BANK   TRAGEDY." 


The  Delightful  Tale  of  French  Life  and  Manners 

E  X P I A  T I  0  N 


BY  TH.   BENTZON 


ADMIRABLY      TRANSLATED 


I2mo.      ?-r  cents. 


"  Far  ahead  of  [its  fellows  in  theme  and  general  treat 
ment." —  World  Herald,  Omaha. 

"  Attractive,  clear,  smooth  and  free.  The  interest  deep 
ens." —  Times,  Chicago. 

"  A  charming  novel,  and  a  welcome  addition  to  the  store 
of  first-class  works." — Morning  Chronicle. 

"  A  beautiful  example  of  life  displayed.  The  plot  is  in 
teresting,  and  characters  strongly  drawn."— Chicago  Tri 
bune. 

"  An  admirable  story." — Albany  Argus. 

"  Charming  and  graceful." — Boston  Literary  World. 

"  It  will  be  found  delightful'" — Geyer's  Stationer. 


A     FLORENTINE    CHURCH. 
from  "  On  the  ll'ing  Through  Europe. 


"  ON  THE  WING  THROUGH  EUROPE,  by  F.  C.  Sessions, 
Esq..  is  a  modest  and  well  written  account  of  what  a  less 
accurate  man  would  not  have  seen,  and  a  clearly  given  de 
scription  of  what  a  sensible  and  thoughtful  pair  of  eyes  did 
see  in  Europe.  The  exceedingly  good  taste,  which  is  evi 
dent  on  every  page,  is  added  to  full  and  complete  mention 
of  what  one  most  wants  to  read  about,  and  yet  finds  so  little 
written  about,  as  related  to  these  topics.  The  binding  is  in 
harmony  with  the  plan  and  execution  of  the  whole  volume." 
•  — Home  Journal. 

"They  are  written  with  a  remarkable  grace,  ease  and 
clearness  of  style.  His  mind  quickly  seizes  the  salient 
points  of  interest  and  besides  penetrates  into  regions  not  so 
often  described  by  the  ordinary  traveler.  It  is  a  very  inter 
esting  and  instructive  little  book,  and  reveals  the  author 
as  a  man  of  vigorous  intellect,  keen  observation,  deep  sym 
pathy  and  excellent  powers  of  description."—  Adams,  Mass., 
Tra  nscript. 

"  While  written  modestly,  simply  and  with  no  effort  at 
vivid  description,  it  does  more  to  place  the  scenes,  incidents 
and  historic  associations  of  a  tour  through  the  British  Isles 
and  on  the  continent  of  Europe  before  the  reader  intelli 
gently,  than  any  similar  work  we  have  ever  seen.  The 
engravings  are  fine,  and  two  letters  of  Rev.  Dr.  Hutchins 
on  famous  English  Divines,  add  greatly  to  the  value  of 
the  book."— Cincinnati  Herald. 

"The  letters  are  well  written,  and  the  descriptions  of 
scenery,  incidents,  etc.,  are  peculiarly  interesting,  showing 
that  Mr.  Sessions  has  been  a  careful  observer.  *  *  * 
The  book  is  an  exceedingly  handsome  one  in  printing 
and  binding,  and  the  elegant  illustrations  it  contains  add 
very  much  to  its  value  and  interest.  We  can  cordially  com- 
mend  the  work  to  our  readers.  It  should  have  a  very  large 
and  general  circulation." — Dispatch. 


"  It  is  entirely  unpretentious,  and  written  in  a  lively  and 
pleasing  style.  A  breezy  freshness  and  evident  sincerity 
pervade  its  pages,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  learn  what  an  unpre 
tentious  writer  can  make  out  of  the  old  cities  and  time- 
honored  buildings,  the  ancient  rookeries  and  much-travelled 
thoroughfares  of  these  older  lands.  The  printed  text  shows 
good  taste,  and  the  illustrations  add  to  its  value."— Christ 
ian  at  Work. 

"  ON  THE  WING  THROUGH  EUROPE  is  the  title  of  just  such  a 
journal  of  a  flying  tour  of  Europe,  during  the  year  of  the 
Paris  Exposition,  as  we  might  expect  from  almost  any  one 
of  our  clear-headed  and  sensible  men  of  business  writing  for 
the  entertainment  of  friends  at  home.  Lively,  concise, 
straightforward,  touching  lightly  but  intelligently  upon  a 
multiplicity  of  topics,  without  falling  into  sentimentality  on 
the  one  hand,  or  lapsing  into  a  too  prosaic  literalness  on  the 
other,  it  is  an  agreeable  and  unaffected  record  of  impressions 
of  travel.  Its  author's  brief  descriptions  of  phases  of 
transatlantic  life,  manners,  customs,  and  scenes,  and  of  me 
morable  places  and  buildings,  are  distinguished  by  the  busi 
ness  man's  faculty  for  close  and  sharp  observation  of  men 
and  things,  and  of  arriving  at  rapid  and  generally  just  con 
clusions  concerning  them." — Harper"1*  Monthly. 

"  The  vast  material  upon  which  the  traveler  had  to  work 
is  certainly  attractively  and  instructively  used  in  the  narrow 
limits  to  which  he  confined  his  writing.  Not  the  least  at 
traction  of  the  work  is  the  series  of  twenty  fine  engravings, 
certainly  the  finest  illustrations  ever  published  in  a  work 
of  this  kind."—  Times 

"  A  series  of  very  sprightly  and  readable  letters  to  the  Oh  io 
State  Journal,  and  we  must  say  that  they  have  lost  nothing 
of  their  freshness  and  interest  by  reappearing  in  book  form. 
We  are  reading  it  with  great  pleasure.  The  mechanical 
execution  of  the  work — as  shown  in  letter-press  and  en 
gravings— is  excellent— very  creditable  to  the  taste  of  the 
publishers."— Springfield  Republic. 


From   "IN   WESTERN   LEVANT. 


1HOW    HEADY. 


BY  WHOSE  HAND? 

A    NOVEL 

BY   EDITH    SESSIONS    TUPPER, 

A  iithor  of  "By  a  Hair's  Breadth,'11  etc. 

MORE  STIRRING,  CLEVER  AMD  VIGOROUS  THAN  EVEN   HER 
PREVIOUS  SUCCESSFUL  NOVELS. 

121110,    Paper,   35   Cents. 


ADVANCE  NOTICES: 

"  Edith  Sessions  Tupper's  latest  novel,  '  BY  WHOSE 
HAND,'  is  a  distinct  advance  on  her  previous  work  in  firm 
ness  of  touch  and  method  of  treatment  of  her  subject.  The 
skill  in  plotmaking  which  the  author  manifests  in  a  marked 
degree,  makes  the  novel  a  fascinating  one  for  those  who 
wish  to  peruse  a  work  of  fiction  which  will  hold  the  atten 
tion  to  the  last  paragraph.  As  a  novelist,  Mrs.  Tupper  im 
proves  with  each  work." — N.  Y.  Press. 

"  An  original  romance.  The  sedate  reader  (if  any  such 
remain)  will  find  the  story  somewhat  emotional,  but  will 
acknowledge  its  animation." — Brooklyn  Times. 

"  The  authoress  has  an  imagination  which  is  always 
vivid,  and  sometimes  picturesque." — Kate  Field's  Wash* 


Jl'SX    I'l  iti.iNUi   I* 


4  FOR  TRAIT  IN  CRIMSONS 

•I  bright  and  entertaining  Drama-novel. 

BY 

CHARLES    EDWARD    BARNS. 


Delicately  printed  on  antique  laid,  bound  in  parch 
ment  paper,  etc.     I2mo.     35  cents. 

Will  be  widely  read  and  enjoyed  by  all  readers  of 
this  successful  author. 


7rom   "AS   'TIS   IN   LIFE." 


From   "AS    'TIS   IN    LJFE. 


A   STERLING   NOVEL 


Tlie  Chicago  Tribune  I»rize  Story. 

By  a  Hair  s  Breadth. 

BY  EDITH  SESSIONS  TUPPER. 

READ    WHAT   THE    PRESS    HAS    TO    SAY    OF   IT. 

"  Her  undoubted  talents  are  of  such  an  order  that  she  may 
reasonably  expect  to  attain  high  rank  among  the  Hedonists 
of  her  time." — Chicago  Herald. 

"  The  authoress  of  this  work  is  a  bright  and  rising  nov 
elist." — N,  Y.  Press. 

"  The  incidents  are  ingenious  and  well  wrought  together. 
This  work  opens  a  new  field  of  enterprise  to  the  gifted  and 
versatile  authoress."— Jamestown  Journal. 

"  This  effort  in  the  line  of  romance  shows  her  power. 
Her  pen  is  her  weapon.  She  has  shown  what  she  can  do. 
Her  coming  story,  '  By  Whose  Hand?'  will  be  looked  for 
with  interest It  goes  without  saying  that  every  ad 
vantage  that  the  plot  presents  is  taken.  The  detail  work  of 
the  story  is  above  criticism.  '  From  the  introspective  to  the 
mystical  is  but  a  step.'  This  step  has  been  taken  by  one  of 
the  brightest  women  this  country  has  seen." — Buffalo 
News. 

"  '  By  a  Hair's  Breadth'  is  ingenious,  free  from  affectation, 
and  told  with  a  degree  of  freshness  and  originality."— 
A'.  V.  Sun. 

"  It  is  the  reportorial  capacity  wonderfully  developed  in 
Robert  Fleming,  the  immensely  clever  reporter,  that  works 
up  the  Paul  Raymond  murder.  l  By  a  Hair's  Breadth  '  has 
merit,  and  Edith  Sessions  Tupper's  hero  knows  by  exper 
ience  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  plentiful  use  of 
the  blue  lead  pencil."— A"  I'.  Times. 

"  One  of  the  brightest  little  stories  that  has  come  to  us  in 
some  time.  A  terse  dramatic  style  combined  with  the  ability 
of  painting  striking  descriptions  with  a  touch  of  the  brush 
shows  that  Mrs.  Tupper  is  an  artist  of  no  mean  ability,  and 
her  future  work  will  be  awaited  with  interest.  Heretofore 
her  work  has  been  confined  to  lyrical  poetry,  but  the  story 
field  should  know  her  soon  again.  '—Morning Journal* 


VENICE. 
2'n»n  "  C>n  the  U'fng  Throng  Europe." 


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EDITIONS  OF 


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A   VENETIAN  STUDY 

IN  BLACK  AND  WHITE  : 

A  drama-novel  of  stirring  incident,  clever  intrigue, 
with  a  plot  of  startling  development,  the  scenes 
shifting  from  Gotham  to  the  city  of  the  Doges. 

DIGBY:   CHESS  PROFESSOR: 

A  happy  and  unique  drama-novel  of  'New  York  life, 
the  interest  centering  in  an  exciting  game  of  chess. 

A  DISILLUSIONED  OCCULTIST: 

.  An  East  Indian  episode,  gathering  interest  from 
a  home-bound  student  of  Hindu  occultisms,  and  the 
recital  of  his  tragic  history. 

THIRTY-FIVE  CENTS  EACH,  POST-PAID. 

7  HE  AMARANTH  AND  THE  BERYL  : 

A  volume  of  poetical  works. 

SOLITARIUS  TO  HIS  DAEMON: 

Thoughts  and  reflections  of  a  thinker  in  search  of 

new  truths  in  nature  and  the  heart  of  man, 

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PRESS  NOTICES : 


u  Barns'  works  appeal  to  the  more  thoughtful  class  cf 
readers. " — Mercury. 

"  These  poems  are  the  rioduct  of  a  deep  dramatic  in 
stinct.  .  .  .  '  Solitarius  to  his  Daemon '  is  an  excellent  prose 
work."—  Telegram. 

"  Mr.  Barns'  writings  show  the  man  of  thought  and 
culture  .  .  .  Solitarius  is  a  work  worthy  of  admiration.  In 
this  his  talents  show  to  advantage.'' — Journal. 

"  A  work  of  high  philosophy." — Press. 

"  They  touch  a  responsive  chord,  and  furnish  food  for 
many  a  fanciful  reverie." — News  and  Courier. 

41  Vigorous,  equally  clever,  and  abounding  in  the  re 
sults  of  much  reading  and  thinking." — Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  Barns  is  a  delightful  essayist,  and  between  his  well- 
rounded  periods  is  a  rich  mine  of  thought  and  philosophy, 
expressed  in  a  most  pleasing  and  impressive  form.  One  of 
those  books  which  is  as  pleasing  in  a  second  reading  as  in  the 

first.  .  .  .The  poems  are  full  of  genius  of  the  true  point 

Our  readers  will  find  in  these  books  a  surprise  and  a  de 
light."—  Christian  at  Work. 

"  These  drama-novels  display  much  curious  learning  and 
a  quaint  humor." — N.  Y.  Sun. 

"  These  works  will  prove  a  valuable  addition  to  any 
library." — San  Francisco  Call. 


From    "IX    XVEbTERN    LEVANT.' 


"  Barns  has  a  fertile  pen.  His  drama-novels  are  pro 
fuse  in  popular  character,  story  and  learning,  written  with 
marvellous  fluency.". . .—  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  Barns  is  capable  of  excellent  word-painting,  admira- 
>le  technique,  and  moreover,  a  noticeably  sweet  and  tender 
versification. . .  .Many  of  the  poems  combine  a  vigorous  and 
rich  harmony  with  virility  and  manly  sentiment."— Phila 
delphia  Transcript. 

11  In  spite  of  many  defects,  it  is  more  than  borne  upon 
the  reader  that  here  are  books  with  a  genuine  message  for 
the  world.  The  writer  is  humble,  earnest  and  hopeful ;  not 
aunted  by  conventions,  nor  driven  into  mistaking  them  for 
truths,  but  yet  respectful  of  them,  acknowledging  their  place 
in  the  world.  His  reading  has  been  wide,  if  not  indeed  pro 
found,  and  has  furnished  him  with  a  rich  treasury  of  refer 
ence  and  allusion,  and  more  than  all,  he  is  a  sturdy  promoter 
of  manliness,— a  virtue  more  than  slightly  underrated  by 
many  of  his  contemporaries.... Barns  will  find  many  read 
ers."  —Boston  Herald. 

"  Barns'  books  are  unique,  exciting,  and  beautiful 
specimens  of  their  art. "—Phfla.  North  American. 

"  They  cannot  but  be  appreciated  by  all  who  seek  real 
literary  gems."— San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

"  A  new  writer  has  sprung  into  enviable  prominence— 
a  young  poet ,  philosopher,  and  novelist,  who  has  produced  a 
series  of  volumes  sufficiently  original  in  thought  and  admir 
able  in  quality  to  merit  the  above  titles These  writings 

have  been  remarkably  amiably  handled  by  the  critics  through 
out  the  country,  considering  that  they  abound  in  crudities 
and  literary  faults  ;  but  they  are  the  errors  of  a  genius.  Not 
a  single  page  of  his  books  but  bears  an  individuality  not  to  be 

mistaken A  sincere  student  of  nature  in  all  its  phases.   As 

Barns  is  young,  and  has  had  exceptional  advantages  as  re 
gards  study  and  travel,  there  is  no  reason  why,  with  his  tal 
ents,  he  should  not  become  an  important  factor  in  the  litera 
ture  of  the  country. . .."—New  York  Graphic. 


- 


AMSTERDAM. 

From  "  On  the  Jl'ing-  Through  Europe" 


A    MOROCCAN    WELL. 


"  '  Solitarius'  is  a  series  of  thoughtful,  quaintly  writ 
ten  essays These  drama-novels  are  readable  and  pleasing 

productions  by  an  author  who  revels  in  the  eccentric The 

volumes  are  choice  in  design,  and  are  the  very  flower  of  the 
printer's  art." — New  Orleans  Picayune. 

"  These  productions  are  thoroughly  unique." — Chi 
cago  Inter-Ocean. 

"  The  drama-novels  are  awake  and  alive, ;  and  that  is 
no  small  virtue  when  so  many  published  books  are  torpid. . . 
4  The  Venetian  Study  '  is  logical  and  impressive.  The  works 
of  this  author  must  be  regarded  as  very  promising."— Boston 
Herald. 

"  The  drama-novels  are  capital  stories,  well  told,  and 
equally  brilliant." — Evening  Telegram. 

"  Barns  is  both  a  philosopher  and  a  poet.  His  prose  is 
stately,  strong,  and  graceful ;  his  poems  are  exalted  in  tone, 

majestic  in  style The  drama-novels  are  the  productions 

of  a  master  of  English,  an  artist  in  description,  and  display 

a  rare  versatility This  young  author's  work  is  introduced 

to  the  public  in  a  most  attractive  form.... The  series  is  of 
great  value." — Minneapolis  Journal. 

5  "  Barns  is  thoroughly  in  earnest,  and  is  rilled  with  the 
consciousness  of  the  solemnity  of  his  mission,  and  of  the  ur 
gent  need  there  is  in  the  world  for  the  truth  his  art  would 

teach The  poems  show  a  true,  workmanlike  touch,  and 

1  Solitarius'  is  a  work  of  truth  and   brilliancy."— Chicago 
Tribune. 

"  The  author  of  these  books  has  read  much,  travelled 
widely,  and  thought  deeply,  and  is  enabled  to  use  these  con 
ditions  with  effect  in  his  writings  which  are  elevated  in  tone, 
in  philosophy  breathing  a  hopef /I,  independent  spirit,  while 
the  reader  is  not  allowed  to  fcrget  that  he  is  an  American. . . 
The  poems  are  distinguished  by  an  elevation  of  sentiment, 
And  a  denn ;  te  purpose."— A Ibany  Journal. 


From    "IN   WESTERN    LEVANT." 


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